A Very Ranger Reunion
by White-Knight-1988
Summary: Tommy Oliver, now a teacher at Reefside High School and mentor to the Dino Thunder Rangers receives a phone call from an old friend & a reunion is planned. Can old flames be rekindled? Will new relationships blossom?
1. Making Plans

It had been nearly thirteen years since Tommy Oliver, now Dr. Oliver, and his former girlfriend Kimberly Hart had spoken. As he flipped through his old high school photo albums he smiled to himself as he perused his past. While some of the pictures were with Jason, Zack and Trini and some featured Adam, Rocky and Aisha, one thing never changed. At the center of every picture, Tommy and Kim were side-by-side smiling brightly.

There was something about her, even after thirteen years and the infamous "letter" that kept Tommy attracted to her even though he hadn't seen or spoken to her in over a decade. Deep down inside, he knew that he would always love Kimberly but on the surface, no one could imagine that the mild-mannered and level headed high school science teacher was aching for the woman he had lost so many years ago.

He quickly shoved the book back into its hiding spot in his desk as he heard a knock on his front door. He was expecting Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira so he instinctively yelled for them to come in. The four teenagers immediately entered the room and flung their backpacks onto the nearby sofa.

"What's up, Dr. O?" Ethan called out as their teacher and mentor came out of his office.

"Not much guys. How are you?" he asked.

"Exhausted," Connor replied "That history test today kicked our butts."

"Correction, Connor," Kira interjected "That history test kicked _your_ butt. The rest of us actually studied for it."

Connor turned beet red as Tommy shook his head and forced a smile. He always gave the appearance that nothing was bothering him but every once in awhile Trent would shoot him a look as if to ask what was wrong and today was no different. When Tommy saw the look he instantly turned on the Oliver charm that he had been blessed with and shifted gears like nothing had happened.

Tommy shared a bond with Trent that no one other than the two of them knew about. Both had been loners turned evil Rangers before they were rescued by a team of friends. The Dino Thunder Rangers had been there to embrace Trent with open arms just as the original Power Rangers had done with Tommy.

Trent would sometimes go into fits of guilt about the things he had done as the evil White Ranger and Tommy was always there to re-assure him that the things he did weren't his fault and if the others could forgive him then he should be able to forgive himself. Oddly, it was the same speech that Kimberly had always given Tommy and when he spoke to Trent it was as if he was passing on a piece of his old flame to his young friend.

Tommy looked at the other Rangers and smiled at how each of them reminded him of his past. Trent was so much like Tommy in his younger days it was eerie. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and attacked everything he did with a fiery passion.

Ethan was a carbon-copy of Billy intellectually and Adam emotionally, though darker and a little chubbier. He was always up to date on the latest technology like Billy was but, like Adam, he always seemed more comfortable blending in with the others.

Connor reminded him of Rocky, always shoving his foot in his mouth after saying the wrong thing and Jason, always willing to take command and put the well being of the team above himself.

Kira was like a combination of Trini and Kim wrapped in one. At seventeen she was becoming a very pretty young lady, an extremely talented musician and she was also savvy enough to take care of herself which were qualities that Tommy admired in both the former female Rangers.

Tommy smiled to himself as he continued to survey the room. He was proud of the team he had helped to create and somewhere deep down, he knew Zordon was proud of him too.

The four teenagers had just started to do some homework before their training as Tommy insisted that school should always come first if possible. Having been a Ranger as a teenager he understood the difficulty of balancing school and duty but he also tried to instill a work ethic in the teens that carried over from the battlefield into the classroom.

Connor had just begun to work on math homework with Ethan when the phone rang. Instinctively Connor grabbed the phone off the nearby receiver and answered it as Tommy shot him a "what do you think you're doing?" glare.

"Oliver residence," he answered.

"Uhh, yeah," the voice on the other end replied "Is the good doctor home?"

"Sure, one second," Connor replied as he handed the phone to Tommy.

"Dr. Oliver speaking," he said.

"Ooooh Dr. Oliver, the man of my dreams. Where have you been all my life?" the voice on the other end teased.

Tommy couldn't help but laugh out loud as he replied.

"Well if it isn't Mr. World Peace himself," he said with a chuckle "How the hell have you been?"

"I've been good, man," the voice answered "How about yourself? Still saving the world?"

"Everyday, bro," Tommy replied "And I got a Red Ranger here that would make you squeal like a little girl."

Tommy shot Connor a wink as the young teenager beamed with pride.

"Way to feed his ego, Dr. O," Trent said as he playfully pushed Connor.

Tommy smiled back at Trent as he continued his conversation.

"So what can I do for you oh-great-master-of-red-spandex?" Tommy asked jokingly.

"Well me, Zack and Trini have a summer break before we have to leave for Switzerland again and we thought that there was no better way to spend it then by having a little reunion," Jason replied.

"Oh yeah? Who all is coming?" Tommy asked secretly hoping that Jason would say her name.

"Well aside from the three of us, Billy, Kat, Rocky, Aisha and Adam have all said that they would come," he began "But we're still waiting on…"

"Kim," Tommy whispered, finishing Jason's sentence for him.

Kira had a sixth sense about her that immediately told her that this Kim person was someone that Tommy had shared a very special bond with in the past. While she didn't know exact details she knew that Tommy would much rather have this conversation free of prying teenage ears.

"Hey guys, let's go downstairs and work on the new Raptor Cycle we've been trying to make for Trent," she said.

Ethan and Trent immediately caught on to what she was trying to do as did Tommy who gave her a thankful smile but, of course, Connor was completely oblivious.

"No way," he replied "I'm listening to Dr. O."

Ethan and Trent both took turns punching him in the arm as he unwillingly got up and followed the others downstairs.

"So have you talked to her, Jase?" Tommy asked.

"We've exchanged e-mails a few times just to catch up and I talk to her on the phone every once in a great while," he replied.

"How's she doing?" Tommy asked. He was genuinely curious about how his former teammates were doing but Jason sensed that there was something else.

"She's good," he replied "And last time I heard, single."

Tommy smiled to himself at his friend's reply. Jason had always been able to read Tommy and there was no way he was going to be able to pass his interest in Kim off as just curiosity. What Tommy didn't know was that Kim had agreed to come only if Tommy did too,

"So are you in or what?" Jason asked trying to bait his friend "It wouldn't be the same without our fearless leader there, now would it?"

The man who had worn almost every color as a Ranger pondered the idea for a few moments before he realized that there was no point in trying to make excuses. If he didn't agree he was going to get phone calls from everyone else until he gave in. Agreeing to go now was worth not having to deal with the 3 a.m. phone calls he knew he'd get from Jason if he didn't say yes,

"Yeah, I guess so," Tommy replied.

Jason smiled to himself as his friend caved in. He had talked to Kim a lot more then he let on and he knew that she still had feelings for Tommy even after thirteen years of being apart. Jason and Kim had spent a lot of time together ever since the incident on Murianthis and he saw this as the one chance he had to re-unite the couple he knew were meant to be together.

"Good," Jason said to his friend "I'm sitting at my computer right now writing an email to everyone with details. Don't mess this up, bro."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked although in his heart he knew what Jason was referring to.

"You know damn well what I mean, Tommy," he replied "But hey, Zack and Trini are yelling at me to get off the phone so I'll talk to you later ok, bro?"

"Sure man," Tommy answered "Tell Trini and Zack I said hi and that I'm looking forward to seeing them."

"Will do, Doc," Jason said "Later, bro."

Tommy said goodbye and hung up the phone as he ran to the computer to read the email that Jason had sent him,

_To: __Tommy Oliver (whiteknight), Kimberly Hart (foreverhisbeautiful), Aisha Campbell (yellowbear), Adam Park (quietfrog), Rocky DeSantos (redape), Katherine Hillard (alwaysanaussie), Billy Cranston (wcranston) _

_From: Jason Scott (jlscott) _

_RE: Ranger Reunion  
_

_Message:_

_Well guys, it looks like our fearless leader has agreed to come to our little reunion meaning all ten of us will be attending. Trini, Zack and myself have the months of June, July and August off for a little summer break so, obviously, we're shooting for some time during those 3 months. The three of us really have nothing to do so any time works for us as I'm sure it does for the good doctor seeing as how school will be out for summer break. What works best for you guys? Get back to me ASAP so we can set this thing in stone. We wouldn't want anyone backing out (TOMMY!!!). Hope to hear from all of you soon. May the power protect you all._

_Sincerely,_

_Jason Lee Scott  
Head of United States Peace Corps, California Division  
Sacramento, CA  
_

Tommy read the email at least three times and each time he did his smile grew brighter. Jason knew Kim was going to come and he had baited Tommy hook, line and sinker but he didn't care. After thirteen years he was finally going to get to see the only woman he ever really loved. Regardless of how Kim felt about him after all this time he couldn't help but feel excited.

He took a few moments to fully grasp what was going to happen in the very near future when he realized that he had left the four teenagers in the basement for almost an hour. He opened the door in the living room that led to the basement and began to laugh uncontrollably as the four Dino Thunder Rangers who had clearly been eavesdropping tumbled to the floor, landing at his feet.


	2. Once A Ranger

_Two months later…_

Tommy nervously paced back and forth in the living room of his house on the outskirts of Reefside. Jason, Zack and Trini were on their way and together they would be making the two hour drive to LAX to pick up Kat, Aisha, Billy and Kim. Rocky and Adam owned the Red Ape/Black Frog Dojo in Angel Grove and they would be driving into town the next day.

Tommy had woken up extra early to make sure his house was cleaned and the fridge was well stocked since he was the only one who lived in town and naturally, everyone would gravitate to his place. He had put on a form fitting and dressy black tee shirt that he tucked into a pair of jeans.

When the doorbell rang he had to take a moment to compose himself before he walked to the door and slowly opened it. Aside from the one time he saw Jason when the ten Red Rangers united to destroy the rest of the Machine Empire, he hadn't seen any of the former Rangers in almost ten years and they had all grown up a lot.

The beautiful Vietnamese girl smiled brightly at Tommy as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He was caught off guard for a moment but quickly returned the embrace.

"Hey, Trini," he said softly "How've you been? You look good."

Trini blushed a little bit as she returned the compliment.

"Same goes for you, mister," she replied with a laugh as she lowered her voice "Kim's really looking forward to seeing you."

Tommy gave her a sly smile that said he felt the same way.

"Oh Tommy! Tommy! The greatest Ranger of all time! Can I have your autograph?" Zack joked as he stepped into the doorway.

"You got fifty bucks?" Tommy quipped back as he gave Zack a friendly hug "Where's Jason?"

He didn't have to wait long for an answer as the original Red Ranger came walking up the driveway carrying four large duffel bags. He threw two of them at Tommy who staggered back as he caught them.

"Zack, I told you I wasn't going to carry yours so unless you plan on wearing the same black shirt you've been wearing for the last decade I suggest you go grab your bags," Jason said as he gave Zack a playful nudge.

Aside from Kim, Jason was the person Tommy was most looking forward to seeing again. Tommy extended his hand for Jason to shake but he all he did was roll his eyes and slap his hand away as he gave Tommy a hug.

"Aww, our favorite couple is reunited," Zack said jokingly as the other three all gave him the "evil eye."

The four friends sat around for about twenty minutes catching up before Trini looked at her watch and realized it was time to leave.

"Come on boys, we wouldn't want to be late," she said as they got up from their respective places on the couch and headed for the door. Jason had rented a huge Suburban, red with gold trim of course, and Tommy climbed into the front passenger seat as Zack and Trini got into the last row of back seats.

"Hey guys, why so far back? We don't bite," Tommy said to his two friends. Jason shot him a look as if to say "don't ask."

"No making out back there, you two," Jason said as he turned to them "I almost hurled coming through the Grapevine."

"Hey just because you're jealous doesn't mean we can't have some fun," Zack shot back throwing an empty water bottle that missed Jason and hit Tommy square in the forehead "Oops. Sorry, Tommy."

Tommy lifted up his shirt sleeve a little bit, flicked his wrist and revealed his Brachio Morpher as Zack's eyes grew wide. Jason was the only one from the old team that Tommy had told about his new powers but he was sure his friend had probably spilled the beans and, if not, he knew he could trust his old teammates.

"Don't make me use this, Zack," Tommy playfully threatened "So you two are an item now? When did that happen?"

"Just recently, actually," Trini answered "After all these years in the Peace Corps together, we both finally realized that we had had feelings for each other for a long time. It kind of just went from there."

Tommy smiled at them as he turned his head back up front. So much had happened that he didn't know about but he secretly hoped that not everything had changed.

"So how are things with you and Kat?" Tommy asked Jason who's expression immediately went from smiling to somber.

"We're still together, but it's tough," he replied "She's got a job at the Australian Consul in San Francisco that keeps her busy and with me going from the States to Bum Fuck Egypt and back all the time, we don't get to see each other as much as we'd like."

Tommy knew exactly how Jason was feeling and he gave his friend a reassuring smile and a clap on the shoulder. Relationships had never been easy for the two of them it seemed. Their real jobs along with their side jobs had always prevented them from being able to commit seriously to anyone that didn't wear spandex.

Since giving his powers to T.J. Johnson, he had had his fair share of dates but nothing ever evolved from them. Women were immediately attracted to him but he could never commit to them. It was as if he was harboring a second life that he wasn't willing to let them in on even when he wasn't an active Ranger.

By the time they arrived at LAX, the four friends had caught up on everything, in between Jason threatening to turn the car around if Zack and Trini didn't keep their hands to themselves, that is. Tommy had filled them all in on the happenings of the newest team of Rangers and the three of them were all excited to meet the newest addition to the legacy they had built over a decade ago.

As they walked in to the airport, Tommy saw a small florist and decided to make a pit stop. He bought a dozen white roses and then quickly ran back to catch up with the others.

"Aww, for me?" Jason said "You shouldn't have. Let's find some water to put these in."

"Haha, very funny, asshole," Tommy replied as he body checked Jason into the side of the escalator.

Kat would be the first to arrive and they walked side-by-side to the terminal to greet her. As a joke, Jason had even made a little cardboard sign with her name written on it.

She was one of the last people off the plane and as she saw the four of them she immediately began to run towards them. She gave Zack and Trini hugs then moved to Tommy. She kissed him on the cheek and warmly embraced him.

"Ahem," Jason cleared his throat and said, in his best Australian accent "G'day gorgeous."

"G'day to you too, handsome" she replied as she gave him a soft kiss.

"So who's next?" Tommy asked.

"Billy's flight should be arriving from Dallas any minute. Let's head on over there," Trini replied.

Since returning from Aquitar and finishing college, Billy had been using the technology he discovered on the alien planet to start his own genetic research company. He had made Forbes Fortune 500 list at just 27 years old and was on pace to become the youngest billionaire ever so it was no surprise when the five friends looked out the window and saw a blue jet land.

"Well, it's good to see he's spending his money wisely," Jason joked.

Aside from magazine pictures and the occasional television interview, nobody had really seen much of Billy and the sight they saw when he stepped into the airport floored them. The man who had once been a shy, self-conscious, reserved teenager now carried himself with a confidence that no one was expecting.

He was wearing a three-piece black Armani suit with a silver shirt and blue tie. He was also heavily engaged in a conversation on his cell phone which he quickly ended when he saw his friends waiting for him. Billy greeted them with hugs all around until he got to Tommy.

"Aww, flowers for me, Tommy? You shouldn't have," Billy quipped "Jason, can we find some water to put these in?"

"Already tried that one, bro," Jason replied "And it wasn't funny the first time."

The others half-expected Tommy come back with some kind of comment but he simply smiled as he gave Billy a hug. Soon the six of them were headed to their final stop.

At a layover in Phoenix, Kim and Aisha had ended up on the same connecting flight to LAX and Tommy's nerves were starting to get the best of him. His palms were starting to sweat and Jason could tell he was nervous.

"You guys go on ahead, we'll meet you there," Jason said to the others as he and Kat pulled Tommy to the side "What's wrong bro?"

"I don't know, man," Tommy replied "Knowing that I'm gonna be seeing Kim again after all these years is just making me nervous, I guess."

"We understand, Tommy," Kat interjected "And I'm sure she's just as excited to see you as you are to see her."

"I sure hope so," Tommy answered.

He regained his composure as best as he could and threw his arms around his two friends as they walked ahead to catch up with the others. By the time they reached the gate, Kim and Aisha were already greeting Billy, Zack and Trini. Immediately Tommy and Kim's eyes met and she began to blush. She gave him a shy and embarrassed smile as he continued to walk toward her.

_Don't say anything stupid, Oliver_ he thought to himself_ It's been thirteen years, now's not the time to make an ass out of yourself._

_Don't say anything stupid, Kim_ she thought to herself_ It's been thirteen years, now's not the time to make an ass out of yourself._

"Hey, Beautiful," he said as he gave her a big hug. _Dammit, why did I have to call her Beautiful?_

"Hey, yourself, Handsome," she said as she returned the hug. _Dammit, why did I have to call him Handsome?_

The two stood there awkwardly not knowing what to say to each other. Eventually, Jason decided he had to make the move for Tommy and he cleared his throat loudly.

"So, uh, Tommy," he said "Don't you have something you want to give to Kim?"

Tommy cursed himself silently for forgetting the newly purchased flowers. He handed the bouquet to Kim who smiled graciously and thanked him with a friendly hug and a kiss on the cheek. After stopping off to pick up everyone's luggage they were all in the Suburban heading back to Tommy's house.

Jason had made it a point to make sure Tommy and Kim ended up sitting next to each other and both of them gave him dirty looks for it. They weren't teenagers anymore and they certainly didn't need Jason to play matchmaker for them, but secretly both of them were glad that he had done it.

Kim had had the longest flight out of everyone and she was starting to get tired. Less than halfway home, she nodded off and when Jason turned around to check on everyone he saw that Kim's head was gently resting on Tommy's shoulder and that he had his arm around her.

From the very back seat, Kim sleeping on Tommy's shoulder instantly became awkward for him because everyone was staring at them and smiling. Jason gave him a look that would have made Zack's face turn red but he didn't care. He knew that he and Kim would need to talk but the fact that she was still comfortable enough around him to sleep on his shoulder made him happy.

When they were about twenty minutes from Tommy's house, the new wrist communicator that he and his trusted sidekick Haley had made for himself and the other Dino Thunder Rangers began to beep. No one really knew where the sound was coming from but when Tommy slowly pulled his arm from around Kim and brought the device to his lips they began to piece it together.

"This is Tommy," he said "Go ahead Connor."

"Hey, Dr. O, I hate to break up the reunion but Zeltrax and a bunch of Tyrannodrones are attacking near the mall," Connor replied "We could sure use some back up."

Tommy took a deep breath. Leaving his friends on their first day in town wasn't exactly something he was planning on doing but his friends knew that Ranger duty had to take priority. He looked at them and they all gave him encouraging head nods except Kim who had just woken up and had no idea what was going on.

"Alright, Connor," Tommy answered "We're about twenty minutes out from my house. Can you guys hang tight until I can get to a Raptor Cycle?"

By this time Kim was staring at him with huge eyes and a wide open mouth. He simply shrugged his shoulders as he waited for Connor to reply.

"I don't know, Dr. O," he replied "We'll do our best. Just get here as soon as possible."

Tommy spent the last twenty minutes of the ride home explaining everything to his friends and former teammates. He told them about working with Anton Mercer and discovering the Dino Gems and about Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira.

Everyone seemed to be fairly excited except Kim. She actually had a look on her face that showed she was genuinely concerned for Tommy's well being even though she knew that, out of everyone in the car, he was the most capable of being a Ranger.

As soon as they arrived at Tommy's house everyone climbed out of the SUV as quickly as possible. Tommy took off in a dead sprint for the Command Center and when he came out riding Connor's Raptor Cycle everyone was standing their staring at him. He hopped off the motorcycle and approached his friends.

"I hate to run out on you guys like this, but duty calls," he began "Just go in and make yourselves at home. I'll be back soon."

He waited for them to head inside but no one was moving. It was as if they were waiting for him to do something. He got the hint and, with a flick of his wrist, his Brachio Morpher appeared.

"Is this what you were waiting for?" he asked "Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

He felt the all too familiar rush of energy as he morphed into the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. Even though they all had morphed themselves, there was something about not being a part of it that made them stare in awe.

He climbed back on to the Raptor Cycle and gave his friends a wave as he drove off through the trees. Everyone turned around to head back but Kim who stood and watched him until he was completely out of sight. Jason had to put his arm around her and guide her towards the house to get her to move. When they got into the house, the others were all laughing as Zack made his plea about how he looked way better in black spandex than Tommy.


	3. Reconciliation

Tommy was driving the Raptor Cycle as fast as humanly possible with every hairpin turn leaving his helmet mere inches from meeting the asphalt below him. He gave a quick scan of the mall area until he saw the Dino Thunder Rangers.

Kira and Connor were back-to-back as a group of Tyrannodrones formed a circle around them and began to close in. Neither was moving much and from Tommy's viewpoint it seemed as if they were trying to formulate a plan. His instinct was right.

Just as the Tyrannodrones got within a few feet of the Yellow and Red Rangers, Connor launched himself into a back flip soaring over them as Kira let out a Ptera-Scream that sent the less-than-intelligent creatures flying through the air.

Ethan was dealing with a few drones of his own and they were charging hard. He was doing his best to deflect the attacks being thrown his way but the creatures were slowly overpowering him. One connected with a punch that sent the young Blue Ranger flying into a tree.

He was slow to get to his feet but he eventually regained his composure.

"Enough of this," he said to the drones "Super Dino Mode!"

The Tyrannodrones watched on in curiosity as the large spikes began to protrude from Ethan's costume. Ethan charged them and, in one swift motion, eliminated the drones.

On the other side of the parking lot, Trent was trying to combat Zeltrax but he wasn't having much luck. Zeltrax swung at Trent with his sword and connected directly with his left shoulder. Seeing as how Zeltrax was much stronger than a bunch of Tyrannodrones, Tommy decided to intervene on Trent's behalf.

The Black Ranger gunned the Raptor Cycle right towards Zeltrax as he prepared to time his jump. At the last possible second, Tommy flung himself from the cycle and launched into a flying kick that connected with Zeltrax's chest and sent the cyborg flying into a concrete wall.

Ethan, Connor and Kira immediately came running to the side of Tommy and Trent. Slowly, Zeltrax stood up and, realizing he was severely outnumbered, chose to run rather than fight.

"You haven't seen the last of me, Rangers," he said with a snarl as he opened an Invisiportal and disappeared in to it.

After a quick regrouping, Tommy attempted to contact Haley, hoping she could open an Invisiportal for them as well. He was pleasantly surprised when she answered considering no one had time to tell her of the recent battle. She quickly opened the portal and in moments, the Rangers were gone.

They landed in the basement Command Center and immediately powered down. Kira was the first to notice the gash on Trent's left shoulder and she quickly opened a nearby cabinet, searching feverishly to find a First Aid Kit.

"Kira, it's not that big of a deal," Trent said in his best tough guy voice even though the cut was visibly causing him pain. As much as he liked the attention from Kira, he definitely would have preferred for it to come under different circumstances.

Kira found what she was looking for and she immediately began to dress the wound before wrapping it tightly in gauze.

_Great_ Trent thought to himself_ Now I really look like a wussy._

Kira looked up at Trent and gave him a comforting smile as she rubbed hydrogen peroxide on the cut. Trent flinched a little bit as the liquid met his skin but having Kira there made the pain a lot easier to tolerate. She wrapped the cut in gauze and, using athletic tape, sealed the makeshift bandage tightly.

"There you go, tough guy. All better," she said with a wink as Trent smiled and thanked her. Tommy checked on the four of them and told them he was going to run upstairs to check on the others. If his house wasn't in complete shambles he'd bring them up to introduce them to his friends and former teammates.

From upstairs no one knew what was happening with Tommy and the other Rangers and, to be honest, they had almost completely forgotten that he was gone. Jason was sprawled out on the sofa, Kim, Trini, Kat and Aisha sat at the kitchen table talking in hushed voices and Zack and Billy were engaged in a playful argument over which of their original Zords, the Mastodon or the Triceratops, would have won in a one-on-one fight. Tommy smiled to himself as he surveyed the room and noticed that Kim had taken it upon herself to find a vase to put the flowers in.

_Maybe everything hasn't changed as much as I thought it had _he thought.

He had been standing in the doorway for almost two minutes and no one had noticed him. Having decided that the house was in proper shape, he turned his head to the other Rangers and yelled for them to come upstairs.

Jason immediately jumped from his position on the couch and sat straight up. The four women in the corner cut off their conversation as did Billy and Zack.

Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira came bounding up the stairs extremely excited but as soon as they entered the room, they all froze. Standing in front of them were eight of the original Power Rangers. They were like kids seeing their favorite singer or actor in person. Tommy could tell that they weren't going to speak for themselves so he took it upon himself to introduce them.

"Guys, this is Connor the Red Dino Thunder Ranger, Ethan the Blue Dino Thunder Ranger, Trent the White Dino Thunder Ranger and Kira the Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger," he began as he turned his attention to the others "That's Jason original Red Ranger and Gold Zeo Ranger, Zack the original Black Ranger, Billy the first Blue Ranger, Trini the first Yellow Ranger, Kat the second Pink Ranger, Pink Zeo Ranger and the first Pink Turbo Ranger, Aisha was our second Yellow Ranger and sitting next to her is Kimberly, the original Pink Ranger. You'll meet Rocky the second Red Ranger and Blue Zeo Ranger and Adam the second Black Ranger, Green Zeo Ranger and the first Green Turbo Ranger later."

They Dino Thunder Rangers took turns shaking hands and introducing themselves and, not surprisingly, they gravitated towards the original Rangers who were most like themselves. Kira had made her way to the girls table and they invited her openly to join them. Connor was chatting up a storm with Jason who just smiled at the enthusiasm of the sometimes overzealous Red Ranger. Ethan had made his way to Billy and seeing as how Trent didn't know where to go, Zack took it upon himself to invite the young White Ranger to join him.

Tommy smiled brightly as he looked at his friends. He was extremely happy that his old teammates were getting along with his new ones and, in classic Tommy Oliver fashion, he slipped into the kitchen to allow his friends to get better acquainted.

He ducked his head into the refrigerator and fished through it for a bottle of water. After finding one, he pulled his head out, shut the door, spun around and was shocked to see Kimberly standing there with her arms folded across her chest.

"Tommy," she said softly "We need to talk."

Tommy nodded his head silently as he lead the way to his office where they could talk in private. He knew this moment was bound to come, but that didn't make it any easier when it did.

He opened the door for her and closed it gently behind them making sure to lock it so that there would be no chance of interruptions. Kim sat on the small black leather loveseat in the corner of his office as he wheeled around his chair and sat down in front of her.

"So what's up?" he asked her, knowing full well what she wanted to talk about.

Tears were beginning to fill her eyes as she struggled to tell the story of why she wrote him the letter. She had done her best to prepare herself for this moment but her emotions were getting the better of her.

"Tommy, I want to explain everything that happened," she said through tears "And I want you to let me tell the whole story before you say anything."

Tommy nodded in agreement and said okay as Kim began to tell the story.

"It all started about a week before I sent you the letter. At the time, I think there was something like six girls and seven guys that shared a wing of dorm rooms in Florida," she began "Everyone knew I had a boyfriend that I really loved in Angel Grove, but that didn't stop them from pressuring me to do the things I promised myself I wouldn't. There were lots of parties with lots of alcohol and I was the only one not drinking. I began to develop a reputation as a prude and slowly became more and more isolated from my teammates."

She stopped for a moment to wipe her eyes as Tommy sat with his arms folded across his chest staring at her. He wanted to understand where she was coming from, but the painful memories of his past were brought back to life as soon as she began talking about the letter. However, the words that Kim would soon say would completely redirect the anger he felt towards Kim.

"I thought a lot about what you said before I left for Florida. How you told me to follow my dreams no matter what. I realized the only way that I would become accepted by my teammates was to party with them," she continued "I didn't want to, but I didn't see another choice. I wanted to come running home to you immediately but I also felt like giving up on the Pan Global Games would disappoint you and that was the last thing I wanted to do. So I made a rash decision and that was to be like the rest of the girls. There was a party with the men's and women's swim teams and I got drunk, really drunk. One of the guys on the swim team, Mark, had asked me out a couple of times but I always turned him down, telling him I had a boyfriend that I cared about and loved very much, but he was relentless."

Again Kim stopped to wipe her eyes and regain her composure. She looked at Tommy, who's facial expression still hadn't changed and she burst into uncontrollable tears. All she wanted was for Tommy to understand and forgive her but he was sitting there like he couldn't hear a word she was saying, or at least didn't want to.

"So, like I said, I got really drunk and started to feel sick. I wanted to go back to my dorm room but none of the girls on my team were in any condition to drive," she continued "Mark offered to drive me back and I thought he was just trying to do something nice. I accepted his offer and when we got home, he insisted on seeing me safely to my dorm room, even though I told him I could make it fine. When we got to my room I thanked him and said goodbye but as soon as I opened my door he pushed me in and locked it shut. He threw me on the bed, lifted up my skirt, held me down and raped me. I begged him to stop, Tommy, but he wouldn't. When he was finished, he zipped up his pants and told me that if I told anyone, he would kill me."

Tommy was still angry but now it wasn't with Kim. She could see he was fuming and she thought he was still mad with her. She didn't really know what to do so she decided to finish her story.

"I was scared and I didn't know what to do. I thought that you wouldn't want anything to do with me if you found out what happened," she said "I figured that the best way to not let you find out was to end our relationship even though I wanted nothing more than to be in your arms."

Tommy did his best to force a comforting smile as he wiped the tears from Kim's eyes. He took her hands in his own as he pulled her in close, hugging her warmly.

"Kim, I understand you were scared," he replied "But you still should have told me. I loved you and I would have been on the first plane to Florida to beat the shit out of that asshole. Then I would have called Jason, Zack, Billy, Rocky and Adam to let them do the same thing."

"I know, Tommy. You were always there for me and I knew that me leaving for Florida was tough on you as it was on me. I felt like telling you what happened would just hurt you more and I just couldn't deal with that," she said softly.

"Well, Kim, I really don't know what to say," Tommy told her as he watched her facial expression become more disappointed "But I do have an idea. What do you say we let the past be the past and start over as friends?"

Kim smiled at him and nodded. "I'd like that a lot," she answered.

Tommy opened his arms as an invitation for Kim. She immediately accepted and returned his embrace as she buried her face in his shoulder. He held her closely but was forced to let go as his wrist communicator began to beep. It was Haley and Kim stepped back to let Tommy answer the call.

"Haley, it's Tommy, I read you," he said.

"Tommy, you need to get down here fast," she replied.

"Can't it wait?" he asked "I'm in the middle of something important right now."

"If it could have waited, I wouldn't have called you, Tommy," she answered "I was monitoring Reefside on the computer and I accidentally zoomed out to a whole view of California. I noticed an unusual energy pattern on the map and when I pinpointed it, I saw that it was coming from Angel Grove. Tommy, there's another Dino Gem out there and it's in Angel Grove."


	4. Protectors of the Right

Tommy gave Kim an apologetic smile as she took his hands in her own. She returned the smile, leaned in and kissed Tommy on the cheek.

"Be safe," she whispered to him.

"I will," he replied "I'll be back before you know it."

He opened the door softly and shut it gently behind himself so as not to draw attention to what just transpired between himself and Kim. He entered the living room and noticed that it was the same scene that he left, this time though, everyone noticed him when he walked in.

"Connor, Ethan, Trent, Kira, basement. Now!" Tommy said as they quickly got up and followed him without questions.

When they got downstairs, Haley was waiting for them and she re-told the story for the four teenagers who were both excited and nervous at the prospect of a sixth Dino Gem. Tommy had never really gone into his past with his teammates but he gave them a brief history of Angel Grove, explaining that it was his old hometown and the hometown of the original Rangers.

"So what do we do?" Connor asked.

"Angel Grove is almost a four hour drive from here," Tommy told them "So we're going to need Haley to open an Invisiportal. I'm going to take Trent and Kira with me. Connor, you and Ethan stay here in case Mesogog decided to attack. You're also going to need to fill the others in on what's going on."

Connor and Ethan nodded in understanding and headed back upstairs as Tommy, Trent and Kira prepared to morph. Tommy asked them if they were ready and they both said yes.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!" Tommy and Kira yelled.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent called.

"Haley, how long for that portal?" Tommy asked.

"Just another minute," she replied "It's taking me a little longer since you guys are going so far."

A few seconds later, the portal was open and Tommy, Trent and Kira were gone.

Back upstairs, Connor and Ethan were explaining about the Dino Gem in Angel Grove and giving them the specifics of the Dino Gems.

"Wait," Jason interrupted "So whoever gets this Dino Gem is going to become a Ranger?"

"Not exactly," Ethan explained "Just because you have the gem doesn't mean you have power. The gem has to choose you."

"From what I've heard, the gems contain so much power that if they were attached to someone without the proper biological intricacies to house the power, it would kill them," Billy added as he shot Ethan a smile.

Ethan and Connor both nodded to Billy as the others sat back and attempted to grasp what was happening. Ranger history was being made right in front of their eyes and they all knew it.

_Angel Grove, outskirts…_

The three Rangers had been searching for almost half-an-hour with no luck. Tommy was carrying a handheld scanner and every time they got to the coordinates of the energy, it changed directions.

They were walking in what appeared to be sand dunes and it took Tommy a few minutes before he finally realized where they were. He looked to the top of the sand mountain and saw the rubble from what used to be the original Command Center.

Seeing the old Command Center brought back painful memories of Zordon but it also gave him an idea. He instructed Trent and Kira to follow him as he made the uphill trek to the massive pile of debris. After about ten minutes of walking they finally reached their destination.

Tommy looked at the small device he was carrying and saw that it was responding strongly to the area. He set the device down and started moving the remains of his old base away. The two teenagers quickly realized what he was doing and began to help. They continued to dig until Trent found a small wooden box and turned to Tommy.

"Hey, Dr. O," he called out "I think I found something here."

The Black Ranger came running over to where Trent was digging and took the box from him. The small container was sealed tightly but there was no lock or latch on it for him to open it. He ran his finger along the side of the box and suddenly it popped open.

Kira and Trent were looking over his shoulder and when the box opened they both looked at each other in complete shock, though neither of them could see the other person's face through their helmets. Staring back at them wasn't just one Dino Gem, there were two.

Before any of them had time to grasp what was happening, Zeltrax and Elsa had appeared. Apparently, Mesogog had detected the energy as well and had sent his generals to get them before the Rangers.

"Haha, looks like you're just a little late," Tommy taunted "Kira, would you care to do the honors?"

"Absolutely," she replied as she let out a Ptera-Scream that sent Zeltrax and Elsa flying backwards.

"Haley, we need an Invisiportal, pronto," Tommy said into his communicator.

The portal opened and the Rangers disappeared in to it just as Mesogog's goons came charging back towards them. Zeltrax cursed loudly as Elsa simply rolled her eyes at the cyborg's anger.

_Tommy's house…_

When the three Rangers landed in the Command Center, Haley, Connor and Ethan were waiting for them. The Red and Blue Rangers had been trying to run interference but eventually they realized that the people sitting upstairs could take care of themselves.

Before anyone could say anything, Tommy had powered down and was running upstairs. He yelled for his former teammates to come downstairs and immediately, they all got up and started walking downstairs. Tommy held the door open and waited for Kimberly but she didn't come.

He ran into his office, thinking she might still be in there but she wasn't. She wasn't in the bathroom either and when he opened his bedroom door he smiled as he found her curled up in a ball, sleeping on his bed. He walked to her side and gently rubbed her shoulder and said her name until she finally woke up.

"Hey, Kim, sorry to wake you but there's something I want you to see," he said.

She rubbed her eyes and said okay as she climbed off the bed. Instinctively, she grabbed Tommy's hand as he led her downstairs. When they got downstairs, all eyes were on them and Jason gave him an encouraging smile and a wink.

He let go of Kimberly's hand, walked to the desk and grabbed the box.

"These," he said as he opened the box "are Dino Gems."

His former teammates stared in awe at the two glowing rocks. Tommy didn't know exactly how to tell them, but he had a pretty good idea that these were destined for two of his friends. He had learned that there were no coincidences where the Power Rangers were concerned and the gems showing themselves right when his friends showed up further fueled his theory.

"Guys, I know this is going to seem shocking," he began "But you know as well as I do that something like this is uncontrollable. I really think that these gems are destined for two of you. Why else would they show up at the same time that you did?"

The seven former Rangers were all taken aback by what Tommy was telling them but absolute shock was something they had all learned to deal with. Tommy had taken the gems out of the box and was holding one in each hand. The small stone in his left hand was glowing green and the gem in his right hand was illuminated by pink light.

"I can't force you guys to do anything. Your duty as Rangers has long since been fulfilled," he continued "The five of us can handle Mesogog fine, but be prepared that if you touch one of these gems, and it bonds to you, you're right back in the game."

Zack didn't even say anything, he just pulled the green gem out of Tommy's hand. They all looked at him, waiting for something to happen but nothing did. Zack's face looked both relieved and disappointed at the same time.

"Wait," Jason said "Shouldn't we wait for Adam and Rocky?"

"No," Tommy answered "If the gems aren't meant for one of you then they can try tomorrow if they want."

Jason nodded as he took a deep breath and took the gem from Zack. Almost instantly the room began to glow green. A bright light flashed and then suddenly, the room was pitch black. After a few seconds, the lights began to flicker and came back on. Everyone looked to where Jason had been standing and saw that the man who had once been the original Red Ranger was standing in front of them in green spandex.

The former Red and Gold Ranger looked down at himself and surveyed his new costume.

"I'm back!" he yelled excitedly. Tommy smiled at his old friend. He was still holding the pink Dino Gem and no one had made move for it. As soon as Tommy saw it in Angel Grove he knew who it was for, but he wanted her to find out on her own.

"No one wants to try the pink one?" he asked.

The four former female Rangers looked at each other hesitantly. Aisha eventually worked up the courage to grab the Gem, but nothing happened. After Trini and Kat both tried with the same result, Kim realized that she was the only one left.

She turned her palm upwards and looked at Tommy who was holding the pink Gem. Her whole body was shaking and tears had started to form in her eyes.

"Are you sure about this, Kim?" he asked "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Kim gave him a slight head nod telling her that she was willing to try. Tommy smiled at her and placed the Gem in her hand. Again, the room went dark but this time the lights took a lot longer to come back on. When they finally did, eleven current and former Rangers were staring at the Pink Dino Thunder Ranger.

"It's gonna be one hell of a summer," Jason muttered.


	5. Defenders Sworn To Fight

Haley, Ethan and Billy had spent the last two days working on Morphers for Jason and Kim. Even after his stint as the Gold Zeo Ranger, Jason still had trouble with the wrist-mounted Morpher so the three "geniuses" of the group were working on a handheld device like he had used as the Red Ranger.

"How did you actually use something like this to Morph?" Ethan asked him as he held up the half-finished device "It seems like it would be a huge inconvenience to have to carry this thing around all the time."

"What can I say?" Jason replied to his new teammate "I'm old-school, but I still get the job done."

Kim was eager to leave the past in the past and decided that a Morpher like the others was fine with her. She had also spent the last two days working, but it was on replenishing her wardrobe with plenty of pink, a color she hadn't worn since she left for Florida. Kira was kind enough to show her around the Reefside Mall and go shopping with her and Kat.

Jason and Kat were using one of Tommy's guest bedrooms since Jason would need to be close by in case of an attack. Tommy had offered Kim his bed, deciding that he could use the pullout couch for himself. In all actuality, he hoped that he and Kim could soon share the same bed.

Billy, being the wealthy man that he was, had rented a fairly nice, fully furnished house nearby and was sharing it with Zack, Trini, Aisha and soon Rocky and Adam.

Rocky had called Tommy almost an hour ago to tell him they were still about two hours away and to remind him to make sure the fridge was stocked. He was still thinking with his stomach.

Tommy had spent his downtime working on Raptor Cycles for himself and his new teammates with Connor and Trent. He was trying hard to concentrate on the work but his mind was drifting elsewhere and the young Red Ranger noticed.

"Looks like Dr. O got bit by the love bug," Connor joked.

"Shut up, Connor!" Trent and Tommy both yelled at the same time.

"Geez, I was just making a joke," he replied.

From the garage section of the basement, Tommy heard a car pull up and thought it was Kira returning with Kim. He quickly ran up the stairs and opened the door, but it wasn't the girls. In fact, he had never seen the red Escalade parked in his driveway.

_Only one person could make themselves that at home to park in my driveway_ Tommy thought and he was right. Rocky jumped out of the SUV excitedly as Adam slowly climbed out and rolled his eyes at his friend.

"What happened to two hours?" Tommy asked as he looked at his watch and noticed that it had only been half-an-hour since Rocky had called him.

"Dammit, Tommy," Rocky replied as he gave his old friend a hug "Why do you have to ruin every surprise?"

"You coming early wasn't a surprise I wanted," he joked "If you really wanted to give me a good surprise you would have stayed home."

"Ouch, major burn," Adam interjected as he greeted Tommy with a handshake-hug combination.

"Hey, stay out of grown folk business and let the Red Rangers handle adult stuff," Rocky quipped.

"It's actually black now," Tommy replied as he flicked his wrist and revealed his Dino Morpher "And the only grown folk I see around are me and Adam, so maybe you should take a walk."

"Black, huh?" Rocky added "That's good. Personally, I always thought I looked better in red than you did."

"Yeah, yeah but he'll never look as good in black as I did," Adam interjected with a smile "Where's everyone at?"

"Billy, Jason, Ethan and Haley are downstairs, Kim, Kat and Kira are at the mall, Trent and Connor are in the garage and Aisha, Trini and Zack are at the house Billy rented for you guys. They should be here in a couple hours to meet us before we leave for dinner," Tommy answered.

"Wait, who are Ethan, Haley, Kira, Trent and Connor?" Rocky asked.

"Ethan, Connor, Trent and Kira are the Blue, Red, White and Yellow Dino Thunder Rangers, respectively," Tommy replied, adding "And Haley is our resident genius, the brains behind our little operation."

"Well, it's a good thing you got her brain, 'cause you sure never had any," Rocky again joked.

"Yeah? Well at least I didn't get addicted to a pachinko machine," Tommy replied.

"Enough bickering guys," Adam replied "Tommy, where's the kitchen? I'm hungry as hell."

"Hey, that's my line," Rocky interjected with a laugh.

"A day late and a buck short, Rocky," Adam answered "The story of your life."

Tommy laughed as he threw his arms around his friends and just as he began to lead them into his house, Kira and Kim pulled up in the yellow Mustang that she had just gotten as a birthday present. As soon as Kim and Kat saw Rocky and Adam, they jumped out of the car and ran towards their old teammates, throwing their arms around them.

Tommy introduced Rocky and Adam to Kira who couldn't help but blush at the two men who, at almost thirty years old, were still good looking guys. The Black Ranger slipped his arm around the new Pink Ranger's waist and followed the newly acquainted friends into the house.

Rocky and Adam immediately made themselves at home as they began to plunder the refrigerator. Deli meat, bread, cheese and condiments were being pulled out faster than the human eye could keep up with. Tommy laughed as he opened the basement door.

"Connor, Trent, Ethan, Jason, Billy, Haley, upstairs!" he yelled to them.

A few seconds later they came bounding up the stairs as Tommy led them in to the kitchen. Rocky had a mouth full of chewed food and was showing it to Adam when they entered. He turned as red as the spandex he used to wear and everyone was immediately grossed out, everyone except Connor that is who had entered a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"I…told you guys…I wasn't…the only one," he managed to squeak out between roars of laughter which made Rocky smile.

"Looks like you got a winner here, Tommy," Rocky said with a smile as the Black Ranger shook his head silently.

Ethan, Haley, Trent and Connor all took turns introducing themselves with handshakes to Rocky and Adam. Connor was in the presence of the three greatest Red Rangers in Power Rangers history and for the first time, he was happy to stand back and soak everything in just like Ethan did when he was around Billy.

Jason and Billy hugged their old friends. Jason was wearing a green tank-top that Tommy had given him along with a bunch of other green shirts that he had saved and Adam found it strange. He had known Jason for years and had never seen the man wear anything other than red or black.

"Since when do you wear green, Jase?" he asked.

"Since this," Jason replied as he unclipped the Morpher from the back of his belt. It was almost identical to the one he used as the Red Ranger except, instead of a Power Coin, the green Dino Gem sat in the middle.

"Man, what's up with everyone stealing my colors?" Adam joked, referring to his stints as the Black Ranger, Green Zeo Ranger and Green Turbo Ranger.

"Tommy, why didn't you tell us Jason was a Ranger?" Rocky interjected, ignoring Adam's pun.

"I figured Jason could tell you on his own," Tommy answered.

"Oh, that reminds me," Haley interjected as she pulled a Morpher from her back pocket and handed it to Kim "This is yours."

"You too?" Rocky asked to Kim.

"Me too," Kim answered as she turned to Tommy "You're gonna have to show me how to use this thingy."

Tommy gave her a bright smile as he put his arm around her and pulled her close. He had faith in the other Dino Thunder Rangers, but having Kim and Jason back gave him an added confidence he hadn't had since he became the White Ranger. Rocky, of course, had to interrupt with a joke.

"Yeah, Tommy. Can you show me how to use my thingy too?"

"I would, but I'd need a map and a magnifying glass to find it," Tommy replied as everyone laughed at Rocky who pondered a comeback then realized he was beaten.

"You've won the battle, Tommy. But the war will be mine," he said as he took a giant bite out of his sandwich.

A few minutes later, the four Dino Thunder Rangers said their goodbyes. Tommy had invited them to join the group for dinner but Kira graciously declined on behalf of the younger Rangers saying that the old group should take the evening to themselves to catch up.

For the next hour or so, everyone but Tommy and Kim played catch-up in between getting ready for dinner. The pair had gone outside and were sitting on the porch swing, talking quietly.

"So, do you want to try and morph?" Tommy asked.

"Sure," Kim replied.

They walked out onto the lawn and Tommy stepped back, giving Kim a little space. She instinctively threw her right hand behind her back and yelled "It's Morphin' Time!" but nothing happened. Tommy smiled and shook his head as he told her that that wasn't going to work.

"You have to concentrate on your Gem, like this," Tommy explained as he flicked his wrist and his Brachio Morpher appeared.

It took Kim a few tries but eventually she got her Morpher to appear.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Well, Connor, Ethan, Kira and myself all say 'Dino Thunder, Power Up!' but Trent says 'White Ranger, Dino Power!'," he replied "I've been thinking about changing mine, but what you say is totally up to you."

Kim nodded in understanding as she took a deep breath and concentrated on the Gem.

"Dino Thunder, Pink Ranger Power!" she yelled as she felt a wave of energy fill her body. A few seconds later she was standing in the middle of the lawn in full Ranger gear.

She popped off her helmet and yelled "I did it!" as she jumped in to Tommy's arms. Instinctively, Tommy pushed her back a little and gave her a kiss. He quickly realized what he had done and pulled back, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me," he said expecting Kim to be mad at him but he was surprised by the look on her face.

"Don't be," she replied as she bit her lip. She grabbed Tommy by the head and gave him the most passionate kiss he had ever had.

"Hey, if I morph, will you kiss me like that?" Jason called out as he walked towards them.

"Only if you buy me dinner first," Tommy replied.

"Wow Tommy, if I had known dinner was all it took…" Jason began but Kim cut him off by punching him in the arm.

"No one's gonna be kissing Tommy except me," she said firmly as Jason threw up his arms in mock defense.

"I'm gonna go take a shower and get ready," she said as she powered down and looked at Jason "Keep your hands off my man, mister."

"I can't make any promises, but I'll try," Jason answered with a smile.

"Fair enough," Kim replied as she walked into the house. Tommy watched her until she was out of sight, smiling the whole time. Suddenly the door opened and Kim came out again.

"Wanna save water, Handsome?" she asked Tommy who turned to Jason.

"Sorry, bro, duty calls," he replied.

Jason had stuck his foot out in an attempt to trip Tommy but the Black Ranger saw the move coming. He launched in to a back flip and when he landed, he grabbed Jason's leg and flipped him onto his back.

"Too slow," Tommy taunted as he stepped over Jason and quickly took off after Kim who was giggling like she was sixteen again.

From his position on the grass, Jason smiled. Two of his best friends were back together, he was a Ranger again, he was surrounded by old friends and his girlfriend was inside waiting for him. He rolled onto his back and flipped himself onto his feet as he headed back inside, ignoring the fact that tonight was going to be one of the last peaceful nights he'd have this summer.

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_Well, that's the end of Chapter Five. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm enjoying all the feedback I'm getting but I do have one request. When I see that you guys add me as a favorite author or my story as a favorite, it means a lot to me because it shows me that I'm doing a good job. However, I really want your verbal feedback so, please, if you read a chapter, REVIEW IT!!! I don't care if if you think my story is great or if you think it sucks or if you have ideas or requests or whatever. Just give me your feedback! Thanks guys._


	6. Downshift

Tommy chased Kimberly down the hall and through his bedroom, but she slipped into the bathroom before him and quickly locked him out. A few minutes later she flung the door open and was standing in front of Tommy in nothing but a towel. She pulled him into the bathroom and began kissing him, pulling off his t-shirt at the same time.

He started to return her kisses but something clicked in his head that made him stop. He pulled back and quickly left the bathroom, shutting the door and leaving Kim alone wondering what just happened. She put her clothes back on and when she came out, Tommy was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. She quickly shut and locked the bedroom door and took a seat next to Tommy.

"What's wrong, Tommy?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied shortly.

"Then why did you run out?" she questioned.

"I don't know," he answered.

"Don't give me that crap, Tommy," she said as she tried to force him to look at her "You know you can tell me anything."

Tommy looked at her and for the first time since she had come back into his life, he was the one with tears in his eyes. She took his hands in her own and asked him to talk to her.

"Kim, being with you is all I have ever wanted in life," he began "But not like this."

"What do you mean?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

"Look, I love you Kim and I guess I always have. I've never been able to have any sort of real relationship with any other woman because, along with Ranger duty which made relationships impossible, I always held on to the hope that we'd be together again," he continued "But you have only been back in my life for less than a week and I'm just not prepared for this. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to move this fast. My body wants to get in that shower with you and just go at it, but my heart and brain are telling me to take a step back and just take it slow, ya know?"

Kim looked deeply in to the eyes of the only man she had every truly loved. She knew he was right, and she was willing to concede to him.

"I'm sorry, Tommy. I'm so used to men only wanting me for my body and I just wanted to be close to you again that when you kissed me outside it took me back to the old days and I just lost control," she replied sheepishly.

"Don't get me wrong, Kim, I want that. But this is more important to me," he said as he touched her head then her heart "The physical stuff will come eventually. We don't have to have sex to be close. For now, I'm willing to just take it one step at a time if you are."

Kim smiled and nodded to Tommy, signifying that she was okay with taking things slow. Tommy stood up and lifted Kim to her feet. He kissed her softly on the forehead and pulled her in closely, not wanting to let go. Eventually though, he had to.

"Don't take forever in there. The others will be here soon," he said as he slipped out of the room. On his way out he grabbed some clothes from his closet and went in to his office to change.

Thirty minutes later he was sitting on the couch in a black dress shirt and matching slacks with a pink tie that Kim had bought for him on her trip to the mall as a joke, not thinking he'd actually wear it. The other guys had taken their cues from Tommy and had worn the exact same thing with ties that accentuated either their current Ranger colors or their former ones. Having been Black Rangers and not wanting to wear all black, Adam and Zack had chosen a silver and black striped tie and a white and black striped tie respectively.

The girls all looked stunning in their dresses, especially Haley who Billy had insisted joined them despite her protests. It seemed as if the two had taken a liking to each other and Haley blushed profusely when Billy complimented her on how good she looked.

Tommy looked at his watch and realized they would be late for their 8 o'clock reservation if Kim didn't hurry up. He didn't have to wait much longer though and he definitely wasn't disappointed that she had taken a few extra minutes.

She came out wearing a beautiful pink strapless dress that made Tommy's cheeks turn bright red. Tommy stood up and walked over to Kim.

"You look great, Kim" he said quietly.

"You're not so bad yourself, ya know," she replied.

Since there was eleven people they had to divide up in to two separate cars. Rocky, Billy, Haley, Kim and Tommy were riding in the Escalade which Tommy was driving since he was the only one who knew where the restaurant was. Adam, Zack, Trini, Aisha and Kat went with Jason who would be following Tommy in the Suburban.

Tommy had picked out a restaurant that he considered to be the "diamond in the rough" of Reefside. The suburban town was mostly populated with big chain restaurants but he had found a nice little Italian restaurant when he moved to Reefside called _Beuno Italiano _about twenty minutes outside of the town that he knew everyone would like.

The restaurant was opened by a middle-aged immigrant couple in the 1960s and it had been passed on to their children and then their grandchildren so the food was as authentic as you could find anywhere in the States.

When they arrived, they were quickly seated and given menus. They ordered drinks and when their waitress came back with their beverages, they placed their order. They had agreed to share three of the restaurant's famous pizzas despite the warning from the server that three would be more food then the group could eat.

"You obviously haven't seen Rocky eat," Aisha said to the waitress which made everyone laugh, including Rocky "He'll eat a whole pizza on his own and then want some of ours."

About thirty minutes later, after polishing off two orders of mozzarella sticks, a plate of bruschetta and a huge mound of fried calamari, mostly Rocky's doing, three servers came out from the kitchen carrying a pizza as wide as a tire, each piled high with Italian meats, cheeses and a few veggies for the girls.

Everyone just stared at the massive pies in front of them except Rocky who rubbed his hands together and smiled like a child on his birthday. They spent the next hour eating and talking about what everyone had been up to the last ten years. So much had happened and there was a ton to talk about.

After everyone had had their fill of pizza, there was still more than a whole pie left over. They divided the pizzas into two boxes, one for Tommy's place and one for Billy's. The guys all threw some cash onto the table, leaving their waitress a very generous tip and left the restaurant.

When they got back to Tommy's house, Jason helped Tommy carry his small office couch into the living room so everyone had a comfortable place to sit. Jason, Kat, Tommy and Kim shared the big couch, Adam, Rocky and Aisha took the smaller couch, Zack and Trini shared the loveseat and Billy and Haley sat together in Tommy's large recliner.

Tommy had pulled out _Remember The Titans_, one of the only movies he owned that everyone would enjoy. The guys liked it because it was a sports movie and the girls enjoyed it because it told a good story. Halfway into the movie, Kat was asleep on Jason's shoulder and Haley had nodded off next to Billy who didn't want to move his arm from around her waist in fear of waking her up.

By the time the movie was over, the only people awake were the guys and Aisha. Slowly and carefully, Billy managed to maneuver himself enough to get up from the chair without waking Haley. He asked Tommy for a blanket which he used to cover the sleeping woman as he reclined the chair into a horizontal position.

Zack carefully scooped Trini into his arms and whispered goodbyes to everyone that was still awake. Rocky, Adam, Aisha and Billy all said goodbye and thanked Tommy for his hospitality as they headed out to the Escalade.

Jason had managed to shift Kat into a laying position on the couch and he too covered her with a blanket before saying goodnight to Tommy and heading into the guest bedroom.

Tommy tiptoed into his room and pulled the sheets back on his bed. After quietly creeping back into the living room he gently lifted up Kim and carried her into his room. He set her softly in the bed and pulled the sheets up to cover her.

He grabbed a sleeping bag and a spare pillow from his closet since his office couch was in the living room and threw them on the floor before stepping to the side of his bed. He bent forward and gently kissed Kim on the top of her head.

"Goodnight, Beautiful," he whispered before crawling into the sleeping bag. He was proud of himself for resisting the temptation to immediately enter a physical relationship with Kim. He knew she was vulnerable and he was happy to just be by her side, taking the journey with her to mend the wounds she had developed so many years ago.

From her spot on the bed, Kim could see Tommy on the floor and smiled. It had been so long since she had a gentleman in her life and she was so glad to have Tommy back with her. She had been prepared to dive head first into a physical relationship with Tommy but he knew it wasn't the right time, even though she didn't. She drifted off again slowly, knowing in her heart that everything was going to be okay regardless of how fast or slow their relationship progressed.

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_Hopefully this chapter was better for those of you who thought I jumped the gun by throwing Tommy and Kim back together in Chapter 5. The moral of the story? NEVER QUESTION THE AUTHOR BEFORE THE STORY'S DONE!!! Haha. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it._


	7. Veteran Rookies First Fight

Tommy's bilogical clock woke him up at six-thirty the next morning with a back ache and a stiff neck from sleeping on the floor. Kim was still asleep so he quietly moved to his closet and pulled out his Gi and belt, putting them in a duffel bag. He hoped Jason, Adam and Rocky had remembered their stuff as well.

He put on a pot of coffee, saw that Kat and Haley were still asleep in the living room and went into the guest bedroom to wake Jason up. He knocked on the door, waiting to see if it would wake him up but he didn't hear anything so he pushed open the door and entered the room. He called Jason's name a few times but he still wouldn't wake up so he grabbed the sheets at the end of the bed, hoped Jason wasn't naked and yanked them off.

"You're a dick bro, you know that?" Jason muttered.

"Not _a_ dick," Tommy replied "_Thee_ dick."

"Speaking of that," Jason said as he rolled over "What happened with you and Kim last night. Did you guys…"

"No," Tommy answered cutting Jason off "We agreed that we probably shouldn't be rushing into anything."

"Tommy Oliver, thinking with his head for once," Jason joked as he pulled himself up from the bed.

"Just shut up and get your ass out of bed," Tommy replied "We have to meet Adam and Rocky at 7:30."

Jason obliged, though not happily. He grabbed his gym bag and followed Tommy into the kitchen. They both downed a cup of coffee and left in Tommy's Jeep.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up to the house that Billy had rented. Tommy pulled out his cell phone to call them since he didn't want to wake anyone up but he didn't have to. Rocky came out first followed by Adam. As Rocky started to walk across the lawn, Adam tripped him causing him to fall face first into the grass.

"That's one," Adam said with a laugh as he stepped over Rocky and climbed into the Jeep. Rocky pushed himself up and eventually made his way to the car.

"Dude, you got grass all over your face. Let me help you with that," Jason said as he turned around and rubbed the grass all over Rocky's face causing him to jerk back.

"Yeah, yeah, it's all fun and games until I kick both your asses at the gym," Rocky muttered.

"You hear that Adam? Sounds like a challenge to me," Jason replied.

Tommy laughed at his friends as he pulled a CD out of its' case and put it in the player. As soon as the lyrics kicked in Adam began singing and playing air guitar at the same time.

_Can't figure out the way you are  
It's like I'm chasing after stars  
You hang your shoulders on the moon  
I guess it's time your leaving soon _

_You tone down  
Don't frown  
You're outta town  
And you come around…_

"Who is this?" Jason asked as he turned to look at Adam.

"It's _Eyeshine_," he replied "The lead singer Johnny is a freakin' genius."

"Sounds like Adam has a little crush," Rocky joked.

"No. I just appreciate good music unlike _some_ people," he replied "These guys are gonna be huge one day."

"That's what they said about Vanilla Ice too and now look at him. He's washed up and stuck doing shows like the Surreal Life," Rocky quipped.

Adam just rolled his eyes as he continued to sing along to the music. Ten minutes later they reached the gym, grabbed their duffel bags and headed inside.

They went into the locker room to change and came out a few minutes later. A couple middle-aged women who were at the gym giggled amongst each other as the four men walked past them. Rocky turned around and winked at them causing them to giggle more.

After a few stretches and warm-ups, Tommy and Jason walked over to the mat, took their places, bowed to each other and began to spar. Punches and kicks were flying and after a few minutes, a small crowd had developed around the mat watching the two go back and forth.

Adam and Rocky watched in awe as the two sixth-degree black belts went toe-to-toe with each other. Adam and Rocky were good, but Tommy and Jason were unbelievable. Eventually, after the two Rangers had exhausted themselves, they bowed to each other again and made room for Rocky and Adam.

The two middle-aged women from earlier approached Tommy and Jason and complimented them on their moves in between giggles. Rocky noticed that the women were talking to his friends and lost focus for just a second but it was enough time for Adam to hit Rocky with a leg sweep that sent him to his back.

"That's two so far Rock-o and we've only been awake for two hours," Adam said as he helped Rocky up to his feet.

Tommy and Jason excused themselves quickly as they walked over to Adam and Rocky. They headed back into the locker room to shower and change. When they came out Rocky was disappointed and saw that the two women were gone.

"Dammit," he muttered "I was in the mood for some cougar hunting."

"The only hunting you're gonna be doing is trying to find your trouser snake," Adam joked causing Tommy and Jason to burst out laughing.

"What's that sound Jason?" Tommy asked.

"I don't hear anything, bro," Jason replied.

"I do," Tommy continued "It's the sound of th-th-th-three!"

"Damn, Rocky, you're on pace to set a new record," Jason joked as he playfully pushed Rocky out the door.

They dropped Rocky and Adam off at Billy's and headed back to Tommy's place. When they walked in, Tommy looked at Jason and smiled as the smell of breakfast came wafting towards them. They immediately headed into the kitchen and saw that Kim and Kat were in the process of cooking a huge breakfast for them.

"Morning, sunshine," Tommy said to Kim as he gave her a quick kiss as Jason did the same to Kat "What's for breakfast?"

"Kat's working on some French Toast and I've got bacon and eggs going for you guys," she replied.

"Well, if it tastes half as good as it smells, I might have to call Rocky," Tommy joked.

"I wouldn't do that if I wanted food to eat," Kat joked back.

"Where's Haley?" Tommy asked the girls.

"I don't know. Kat said when she woke up she was gone," Kim answered.

"That's weird," Tommy replied "I should probably call her and see if everything's okay."

"Eat breakfast first," Kim said "I'm sure Haley's fine."

For some reason, Haley knew Tommy would worry about her if she wasn't in the same spot she fell asleep in when he woke up. Tommy felt a vibration in his pocket, pulled out his cell phone and saw that he had a text from Haley.

_Went to Billy's. Everything's fine. Don't worry and don't call _;-)

Tommy laughed as he showed the text to Jason, Kat and Kim who all laughed with him.

"Personally, I think it's good that Billy has found a woman he likes being around," Kim said.

"Yeah, I agree," Jason replied in a voice muffled by the mouth full of food he had "It's really good."

Tommy, Kim and Kat all laughed at Jason as they watched half-chewed food fall out of his mouth and land on his lap.

Right in the middle of taking a bite, Tommy faintly heard the alarm from the Command Center go off. He got up quickly and signaled for the others to follow him downstairs which they did. He looked at the screen and saw that Zeltrax and a bunch of Tyrannodrones were terrorizing a group of people at the park.

"Shit," Tommy muttered "Guys, we gotta go."

Jason and Kim nodded to Tommy who was pushing buttons to open an Invisiportal.

"Kat, when we leave, push these buttons to close the portal," Tommy explained as he showed her the sequence "Haley's number is on the white board in the kitchen. Call her as soon as the portal is closed. She'll come over and take over from there okay?"

Kat nodded to her friends and watched as they disappeared into the portal. She pushed the three buttons that Tommy showed her and the portal closed. She quickly ran upstairs and immediately called Haley.

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Tommy, Kim and Jason landed about a hundred yards from where Zeltrax and the Tyrannodrones were attacking and they took off in a dead sprint towards them. Zeltrax, not knowing that Jason and Kim were Rangers, took one look at the trio and laughed.

"What's so funny, metal head?" Kim yelled as she flicked her wrist and revealed her Dino Morpher.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with tricks up my sleeve," Tommy taunted as his Brachio Morpher appeared.

"No fair guys, I wanna play," Jason said as he reached behind his belt and unclipped his Morpher.

"Looks like you're in for a rude awakening, Zeltrax," Tommy called out "Meet the two newest Rangers. I'd say you'd be seeing a lot of them, but after we're done with you, you won't be seeing much of anything. Dino Thunder, Black Ranger Power!"

"Dino Thunder, Pink Ranger Power!" Kim yelled.

"Green Ranger Power!" Jason called, intentionally leaving out the "Dino Thunder" since he liked his calls to be short.

"Well, well, well aren't we full of surprises," Zeltrax said in his robotic voice "Too bad it won't help you. Tyrannodrones, attack!"

"Jason, you and Kim handle these goons, I'm going after Zeltrax," Tommy commanded.

"You got it bro!" Jason replied "Let's do it, Kim!"

Jason and Kim met the Tyrannodrones head on as Tommy chased after Zeltrax hoping the two new Rangers could handle the drones. Zeltrax had a head start, but Tommy was much faster. When he got close enough he launched himself into a corkscrew flip and landed directly in front of Zeltrax. His landing had caught Zeltrax off guard giving him an opening. He cocked his leg back and connected with a kick square in Zeltrax's chest that sent the cyborg flying into a tree.

Zeltrax was slow to his feet but when he got up he pulled out his sword and started running at Tommy. The cyborg took a swing at Tommy but the Black Ranger sidestepped the attack and tripped Zeltrax.

"You need to rethink your strategy. You just keep getting easier and easier," Tommy taunted "Brachio Staff!"

One thing Tommy wasn't was cheap. He waited until Zeltrax got back to his feet before attacking him with the staff. He connected with blow after blow causing sparks to continuously fly from Zeltrax's armor. The Black Ranger took a step back, preparing to charge with a full head of steam but before he could try for a finishing move, Zeltrax quickly opened an Invisiportal and disappeared inside of it..

He looked over at his friends and saw that they hadn't lost a step in over ten years. Jason was doing pull-ups from a tree branch twenty feet off the ground and Kim was pretending to yawn in boredom at Tommy. Apparently, they had gotten rid of the Tyrannodrones pretty quick. When Jason saw Tommy walking towards them he swung forward off the branch and launched into a back flip, landing right in front of Tommy.

"So, uh, when do we get actually get to fight?" Jason asked him jokingly "The Tyrannodrones are strong but I think even Bulk and Skull could outwit those clowns."

"Yeah, what took you so long?" Kim shot at Tommy "I could have had lunch and gotten my nails done by the time you were done with that guy."

"Haha, very funny you guys," he replied sarcastically "You try fighting that guy and then come talk to me."

"Newsflash, Tommy," Jason interjected "I don't have to fight that guy. I fought _and_ kicked your ass so if you can take him I know I can."

Tommy actually laughed as they powered down and he called Haley who opened up an Invisiportal for them. They disappeared into it and when they arrived back at the Command Center, they were met by the four teenage Rangers who were staring at their mentor with looks of extreme disappointment.  
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_I used the band _Eyeshine_ in the context they appeared for a very specific reason. Partly as a joke and partly to support a great band. If you haven't heard them check them out on MySpace or on their website if not for the music, at least so you can get the joke. I'd type in the exact web addresses but FF doesn't allow web links for some reason. Their main website is eyeshine(dot)net and the MySpace is myspace(dot)com/eyeshine. _


	8. Bad in Black

Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira stared at Tommy for a few seconds waiting for a reaction but he was oblivious to the issue at hand. He looked back at them with a confused expression, not knowing what was going on.

"Come on guys, let's go," Connor said "Dr. O's got his friends here, he obviously doesn't need us."

The four teenagers got up and walked past their mentor, each one looking at him and shaking their head. Connor stopped, turned around, flicked his wrist and tossed his Morpher on to the counter as Ethan, Trent and Kira followed suit.

"Apparently, we won't be needing these anymore," Connor muttered as they climbed up the stairs, exiting the room.

"What was that all about?" Tommy asked Haley.

"What do you think?" she replied "You just had a fight with Zeltrax and they had to find out from me when they got here because you didn't call them."

"I still don't see what the problem is," Tommy continued "You'd think they'd be happy that I didn't call them at nine in the morning for a fight with Zeltrax.

"I hate to say it, Tommy, but they have a reason to be upset," Jason interjected "Remember how you felt every time you couldn't go into battle because of how unstable your Green Ranger power was? You felt completely useless and that's probably how they feel right now."

Jason's words hit Tommy like a ton of bricks. There were countless times where the Rangers had to go into battle and Tommy couldn't help because of his power's instability and every time they went into a fight without him it tore Tommy up inside. Jason was right and Tommy knew it. He was going to have to do whatever it took to make things right with the teens.

He took off running upstairs hoping he could catch them before they left. He flung the front door open and ran outside just in time to see the tail end of Kira's car disappear out of sight.

When he turned back around, Jason and Kim were standing in the doorway waiting for him.

"I messed up, didn't I?" he asked.

No one had the heart to say it out loud but they both kind of shrugged their shoulders in a way that gave Tommy his answer. He walked past them and grabbed his keys off the rack on the wall.

"I'm going for a drive," he muttered.

"Do you want some company?" Kim asked but Tommy didn't answer. He just kept walking past her, got in his Jeep and sped off into the woods.

He found a secluded area near the park, parked his vehicle, got out, walked towards a picnic table and sat on top of it, resting his head on his fists. He was angry with himself and that was all the encouragement that Mesogog needed to put his plan into action.

_Mesogog's base…_

"Yessss, feel your anger within yourself, Black Ranger," Mesogog hissed as he watched Tommy on a viewing screen "Let your anger take over."

Mesogog yelled for Zeltrax and Elsa to enter his chamber which they did quickly.

"Take some Tyrannodrones to the park and put my plan into action," he commanded.

Zeltrax and Elsa acknowledged Mesogog's orders and immediately exited the room.

"I don't like this," Elsa said to Zeltrax "I have a bad feeling that this whole thing is going to blow up in our faces."

"I agree," Zeltrax replied "But unless you wish the same fate as Lothor I suggest we keep our concerns with the plan to ourselves."

Elsa nodded as they continued to walk down the corridor. She saw what Mesogog had done to Lothor and that was the last thing she wanted. They rounded up as many Tyrannodrones as possible, opened an Invisiportal and disappeared into it.

_Cyberspace Café…_

Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira were all sitting at a table talking about what had just transpired between themselves and Tommy.

"You know, guys, I think we might have been a little out of line with the way we treated Dr. O earlier," Kira said "I really think we should go back and try to talk to him."

Ethan and Trent gave Kira looks that said they agreed with her but Connor just shook his head in absolute disagreement.

"No way," Connor replied "You saw what happened. Now that he has his old teammates, he thinks he doesn't need us."

"I really don't think that's how it went down," Ethan interjected "Dr. O has never done anything like that before, maybe something came up, he had to react quickly and forgot to call us."

"Ethan's probably right, Connor," Trent added "He's under a lot of pressure with having all his old friends back in town and everything."

"That's the problem," Connor replied "He's got all his old friends back and he forgets about us. You guys do whatever you want, but I'm not talking to him right now."

Connor got up and walked away, leaving his friends at the table. He heard his communicator beep, saw that it was Tommy and turned it off. The Red Ranger would be furious with himself later and for a long time for not answering the call from Tommy.

_Same time, the park…_

Tommy was still sitting on the table, kicking himself for upsetting the other Rangers. He understood why they were upset but, at the same time, he couldn't believe they had turned in their Morphers over something like this. He had never done anything to upset them and their behavior only made Tommy angrier.

He pushed the button on his communicator to call Connor, hoping he could talk to them about what happened, but the Red Ranger didn't answer. Tommy reached into his pocket for his cell phone but before he could pull it out, a small army of Tyrannodrones fell from the sky and surrounded the table.

"Shit," he muttered as he stood up on the table.

He flicked his wrist and his Morpher appeared but something clicked in his head that made him not morph. His anger made him cocky and he decided to take on the drones without power.

He immediately engaged the creatures, swiftly taking them out one by one. A handful of the drones began to close in on him and he barely jumped out of the way of an attack. When he landed, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around and was met by Elsa who connected with a kick that sent Tommy flying into a tree.

His body smashed into the base of the tree as his head smacked back violently and he slumped to the ground as Zeltrax appeared. The cyborg pointed his sword at Tommy and beams of energy shot out of it, wrapping around the unconscious Black Ranger. Zeltrax lifted him off the ground violently as he opened an Invisiportal just in time to see Jason and Kim running towards him.

"Too late, Power Rangers," he taunted as he disappeared into the portal.

When Kim saw Zeltrax disappear with Tommy, she lost it and started to cry uncontrollably. Jason tried to comfort her and tell her that they would get Tommy back but she wasn't listening. She buried her head into Jason's shoulder and cried until she couldn't cry any more.

Jason eventually let go of Kim and dug into his pocket for his cell phone since he didn't have a communicator of his own yet. He also didn't have Haley's number so he called Tommy's house hoping someone answered. After three rings he heard the line click and Kat's voice.

"Oliver residence, Katherine speaking," she answered.

"Kat, it's Jason. Kim and I went to the park to check on Tommy and when we got here, Zeltrax had him tied up and they disappeared into one of those portal things," Jason told her "Is Haley still there?"

Kat ran downstairs to check and was relieved to see that Haley hadn't left. She told Haley that it was Jason and handed her the phone as Jason repeated his story to Haley.

"Dammit," Haley replied "Have you called the others?"

"No, I don't have a communicator yet so I don't have a way to reach them," he answered.

"Okay, I'll try to get a hold of them," she said "Just get back here as soon as possible, okay?"

Jason said okay as he put his arm around Kim and led her to the car. He tried again to reassure her that everything would be okay but she seemed to be in a trance, just going through the motions, not really seeing or hearing anything around her.

_Mesogog's base…_

Tommy was strapped to a table in a spread eagle position with Mesogog standing over the top of him. His eyes began to flutter and slowly, they opened. When he saw where he was he jerked violently, but he couldn't move much.

"There is no use fighting, Black Ranger," Mesogog hissed "Soon you will be mine."

"Over my dead body," Tommy replied.

"If that is what it takes, then so be it," Mesogog answered as he turned to a small keypad and pushed a combination of buttons.

Tommy looked up and saw a huge contraption that looked like a metal kayak start to lower down over him. He tried desperately to free himself but the straps were doing their job. Tommy yelled loudly as the contraption closed over him. The machine made a hissing sound as steam began to pour out from underneath it. Mesogog could still hear his muffled screams and let out an evil laugh until the screams subsided.

It took about five minutes for the contraption to raise itself back up. When the steam cleared and Tommy came into view again, he was still strapped to the table but he was wearing full Ranger gear. Mesogog stepped back and called for some Tyrannodrones to release him in case his plan hadn't worked.

The creatures walked over to the table clumsily as they fumbled with the straps. Eventually they got them off but the Black Ranger wasn't moving.

"Yessss. Rise Black Ranger," Mesogog commanded.

Tommy pushed himself off the table quickly and stood face-to-face with Mesogog like he was preparing to attack which startled Mesogog but the Black Ranger didn't move.

"How may I serve you, Master?" he muttered as Mesogog erupted into a triumphant laugh.


	9. Emotions Flare

Jason, Kim and Haley all sat in the basement Command Center trying frantically to get a lock on Tommy's Dino Gem but they weren't having any luck.

"Maybe we should call Billy," Jason suggested "He's got a lot of experience with stuff like this."

"You know what, Jason, you're acting just like Tommy" Haley snapped "You think because all of a sudden you show up with all your friends and become a Ranger again that you can just take over. I don't need any help. In fact, maybe you guys should leave."

Jason looked genuinely hurt by Haley's comment but before he could reply, Kim spoke up.

"You obviously don't know much about being a Ranger. Jason didn't ask for this Haley, none of us did. We didn't choose the power, the power chose us," Kim replied "But you wouldn't know anything about that seeing as how you just sit at a desk and push buttons. I think you're jealous of us. You've been with this team since the start and you are still just stuck here in this basement doing nothing."

Now it was Haley's turn to be hurt. Tears started to fill up her eyes as Kim rolled her eyeballs and started walking up the stairs. Before she got to the door, she turned around and looked at Haley.

"Find Tommy or it's your ass," Kim shot.

Haley erupted into tears as she buried her head in her hands. Jason really didn't know what to do so he did what he always did when things like this happened. He placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to calm her down.

"She didn't mean that, Haley," he said softly "She just wants Tommy to be okay. She's had to deal with losing him so many times and now that she has him back, losing him again scares the holy hell out of her."

"I know," Haley whimpered "But she's right. Ever since I started working with the team I've wanted nothing more than to be able to go out there and fight with them. Four new Rangers have joined the team since Connor, Ethan and Kira discovered their Gems and I'm still down here opening Invisiportals and doing stupid bitch work."

While Jason couldn't exactly relate to how Haley was feeling, he kind of had an idea of what she was going through. When their Dinozords were destroyed by Lord Zedd, Jason and the other Rangers couldn't do anything to stop him so he did his best to comfort her and let her know that she was appreciated.

"Look, Haley," he replied "You're an important part of this team whether you're out there fighting or down here. Our lives would be a lot more difficult if you weren't down here doing the things you do. You make things a lot easier on all of us. But one thing I've learned in all my years as a Ranger is that, no matter how good or strong or capable you think you are, everyone needs help sometimes."

"Thanks," she said as she looked at Jason and smiled "Maybe I should call Billy after all."

"Good," Jason replied as he started to walk up the stairs after Kim.

"Hey, Jason!" she called as he turned around "I'm really sorry for snapping at you earlier."

"I know," he said with a smile as he disappeared into the house.

When Jason got into the living room, Kim was sitting on the couch crying. Jason sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Kim, everything's gonna be okay. We'll get Tommy back," he said as confidently as possible.

"It's not that, Jase," she replied quietly "I mean, it is, but it's Haley too. I shouldn't have said those awful things to her. I feel terrible."

Jason went to say something but before he could get a word out the front door flung open and the four teenage Rangers ran in.

"What's going on?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, Haley said it was urgent," Trent replied.

"We got here as soon as possible," Ethan added.

"Is everything okay?" Connor asked.

"Guys, guys, calm down. One at a time," Jason replied "Zeltrax kidnapped Tommy and disappeared into an Invisiportal with him. Haley's downstairs trying to find him but she's not having much luck. Billy should be on his way here to help her soon."

"Dammit," Connor muttered as he threw himself onto the loveseat.

"What's wrong with you?" Jason asked.

"Dr. O tried to call me earlier but I didn't answer my communicator," he replied "If I wasn't being such a stubborn ass and had just talked to him this wouldn't have happened."

Everyone looked at Kim expecting her to lose it right there but she took a deep breath and walked over to where Connor was sitting and sat next to him. She placed her hand on his knee and looked up at him.

"Connor, this isn't your fault, not totally," she said "You guys were way out of line earlier snapping at Tommy but if you had been with him, Zeltrax probably would have gotten you too. And now that Tommy's gone, we need you to step up more than ever."

"You mean you still want me on the team after the way I acted?" he asked.

"No, we don't want you, Connor," Jason replied as everyone looked at him shocked "We want all of you. And we need all of you if we're gonna get Tommy back."

"Guys, we're really sorry for the way we acted earlier. I guess we were just jealous that Dr. O took you guys and not us," Kira interjected.

"I know," Jason replied "But we're not the ones you need to apologize to. You'll have to wait until we get Tommy back for that. But before we do anything, you guys all need to sit down. I don't know how much Tommy has told you about his past but I want to tell you all a story if that's okay."

The four teens all nodded as they sat around Jason. He cleared his throat and started to speak again.

"When Zordon first started the Power Rangers years ago to battle Rita Repulsa there were five of us.It was myself, Kimberly, Zack, Trini and Billy," Jason began.

"Wait, Dr. O wasn't an original Ranger?" Ethan asked.

"Let Jason tell the story guys," Kim replied.

Jason smiled at Kimberly and continued to tell the story.

"There was a karate tournament in Angel Grove where we all grew up and in the finals, I fought this new kid to a draw. He was easily the toughest person I have ever fought in my life. A day or two later, this new Green Ranger randomly appeared out of nowhere and thrashed our Command Center," Jason continued "We didn't know it at the time, but Rita had put Tommy under a spell and gave him the sixth Power Coin causing Tommy to become the evil Green Ranger. Eventually I…I mean we, broke the spell and Tommy joined our team."

Connor, Ethan and Kira looked on in shock as Trent pretended like he hadn't heard the story before. The three teenagers had no idea that their mentor was once an evil Ranger.

"But because he was an evil Ranger first, his connection to the Morphin' Grid was extremely unstable. He missed out on a ton of battles because every time he morphed, it drained him of a ton of energy," Jason continued "After a while it got to the point where even the smallest battle left him completely depleted. Eventually, he lost his powers and none of us saw him for awhile. Then one day, Zordon brought Tommy back as the White Ranger and made him the leader of the team. I haven't told many people this before, but I was extremely jealous of Tommy. I had been the leader of the team for over a year and I had proven that I was a capable leader. I didn't really like being removed from my position, but you know what?"

"What?" all four replied as Jason smiled.

"I had faith in Zordon and his decisions and I had faith in Tommy. There's a reason that everyone who has ever been a Power Ranger, from our team to the Space Rangers to Wild Force to you guys, has heard about and respects Tommy Oliver. Not only as a Ranger but as a person as well," Jason said "The man knows what he's doing better than anyone I've ever met and every decision he makes he makes with the team's best interest in mind. He wasn't trying to hurt your feelings by not calling you guys because Tommy knows better than all of you how it feels to be left out of a battle and I know better than all of you what it feels like to be jealous when you feel like someone has taken your place. Kim and I aren't here to replace you, we're here to help you. One of the biggest parts of being a Ranger is always having faith in your teammates even if they do something you don't initially understand or agree with."

"Jeez, we acted like kids today," Ethan muttered.

"Guys, you are kids and kids make mistakes. You all have a huge burden to carry by being Rangers" Kim interjected "But you're also very lucky. We didn't have any veteran Rangers to teach us what to do. We had to learn as we went along. You have the greatest Power Ranger ever helping you guys every step of the way. And me and Jason aren't so bad either."

Everyone laughed and Connor went to speak but he was cut off by Billy who came running through the basement door. He must have gone in from the outside because he no one had seen him come in the front door.

"Guys…Zeltrax…Elsa…financial district…they have Tommy," he said as he gasped for breath in between words.

Everyone immediately got serious as Connor stood up, reassuming his role as leader. He looked at Jason, then sat back down. It was a rare moment of sensibility for the Red Ranger.

"You're right, Jason," he said "We were jealous and it was me more than Ethan, Trent and Kira. But I've realized that I have a lot to learn. I want you to lead the team if that's okay with you."

"Connor, I appreciate it, but that's not my place," Jason replied "This is your team, you're the leader and if you hadn't proven that to Tommy, he wouldn't have given you the position. I'll be right by your side every step of the way, but I can't supersede Tommy or you."

Connor and the others smiled at the fact that Jason still had faith in them after everything that happened. They all got up and went downstairs as Haley was preparing to open an Invisiportal for them. Kim looked at her apologetically as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Save it for later, Kim," Haley said cutting her off "Right now all we need to worry about is getting Tommy back safely."

Kim smiled at her as the Invisiportal opened and they disappeared inside of it. They landed in an area where they could see Zeltrax, Elsa and a morphed Tommy but their enemies couldn't see them.

"You ready guys?" Connor asked as he flicked his wrist, but nothing appeared.

"Oh, I forgot," Jason said as he and Kim reached into their pockets and handed the Rangers their Morphers "You're gonna need these."

Connor gave Jason a head nod and thanked him.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up, Ha!" the three teens yelled.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent followed.

"Dino Thunder, Pink Ranger Power!" Kim continued.

"Green Ranger Power!" Jason finished.

Zeltrax and Elsa had the Black Ranger on his knees with their swords at his neck. The Rangers ran towards them as Tommy saw them and yelled for help. None of the Rangers realized that they were quickly running into a huge trap that the man they were trying to save had planned.


	10. Bad Meets Evil

Tommy laughed to himself as he watched the Rangers run at them.

"Let them hit you," he muttered to Zeltrax and Elsa "It'll make them think they've freed me then I can attack when they aren't expecting it."

Neither Zeltrax nor Elsa really wanted to get hit, but they obliged and braced themselves for the pending attack. Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira all launched into huge kicks that sent the two generals flying backwards. They chased after them while Jason and Kim began to untie Tommy. When the ropes were off, the Black Ranger stood up and cracked his neck to both sides.

"Thanks, guys. Now to finish the job," he muttered "Brachio Staff!"

Jason and Kim waited for Tommy to go after Zeltrax and Elsa but he didn't move towards them. Instead, he turned around and looked at the Green and Pink Rangers.

"Time to pay for your foolishness," he said with a laugh as he swung the staff at the Rangers, knocking Jason and Kim down.

The transformation from Mesogog not only made him evil but it also caused him to lose his sense of honor and dignity as well. He walked over to Jason, picked him up by his neck, threw him into a tree and laughed. Kim slowly stood up and looked at Tommy.

"Tommy, what are you doing?" Kim yelled.

"What I should have done a long time ago," he replied in a voice that gave Kim chills and brought back horrible memories "Mesogog has ordered me to destroy you. He commands and I obey. Hahaha."

"Tommy, you don't have to do this. We can help you," Kim pleaded.

"Help me? How could you possibly help me?" Tommy asked "You've done nothing but hurt me my whole life. Now it's about time that I get to pay you back."

"So that's how it is for you, Tommy?" Kim asked "The greatest Power Ranger in history taking orders from some freak lab accident gone wrong?"

"Silence!" he yelled.

He swung his Brachio Staff at Kimberly and sent her flying through the air as she fell on top of Jason.

"Stay out of my way, Pink Ranger," he muttered heartlessly "You have been warned."

Zeltrax and Elsa were not having as much luck with the four teenagers. They were being backed into a corner as the Rangers prepared to close in.

The Black Ranger shook his head and felt the anger inside him grow as he ran towards them. The four teens were so busy with Mesogog's generals that they hadn't seen Tommy take out Jason and Kim.

"Must I do everything?" he asked.

"Hey, we're not doing too bad," Connor replied.

"You will pay for your insolence," Tommy muttered.

"Huh?" Connor asked confused but Tommy didn't respond. Instead he launched himself into a tornado kick that connected directly with Connor's chest sending the Red Ranger to the ground.

"Dr. O, what are you doing?" Ethan asked.

"What my master commands of me," Tommy replied as he whipped out his staff again and hit both Ethan and Kira. He swung his staff at Trent but the White Ranger caught the weapon.

"Dr. O, don't do this," he pleaded as Tommy hung his head "You're better than this. Let us help you."

For a split-second Tommy wondered why he was doing what he was doing but when he saw Zeltrax and Elsa his anger began to feul him again. Tommy slowly lifted his head to look at Trent. The White Ranger loosened his grip on the staff, thinking he had gotten through to the Black Ranger.

"Fool!" Tommy yelled as he kicked Trent square in the chest.

The six Rangers were all trying to help each other regroup as Tommy started to walk towards them.

"If you were smart you would stay out of my way," he warned "Unless you wish to suffer the same fate as Zeltrax."

Tommy's words confused everyone, especially Zeltrax who was standing just a few feet away from him, perfectly fine. The Black Ranger pointed his staff at the cyborg and began to shoot beam after beam of energy at him until he went limp and collapsed on the ground.

"I am Mesogog's head general now," he said with an evil laugh "That is unless you have any objections, Elsa."

The woman quickly said no as Tommy continued to taunt the Rangers. The Black Ranger pointed his staff to the sky and an Invisiportal opened. He disappeared into it with Elsa, leaving the lifeless body of Zeltrax behind.

"Man, this is terrible," Connor muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Ethan asked.

"There's nothing we can do," Kira replied "Dr. O's the strongest Ranger ever and now he's fighting for Mesogog. We might as well kiss Earth goodbye."

"No," Jason interjected "Mesogog must have done something to Tommy. Tommy's been down this path more than once and we've always found a way to save him. This time is not going to be any different."

Everyone looked at Kim, hoping she would say something but the Pink Ranger sat still on the grass. She buried her face in her hands and started crying again.

"Why is it always Tommy?" Kim asked through tears.

"They go after Tommy because of how great he is. Because without him they think the team will fall apart," Trent replied as he placed his hand on Kim's shoulder "It's up to us to prove them wrong and get him back safely. Dr. O's has always been there for us, now it's our turn to be there for him."

Jason looked at Trent and gave him a slight head nod. He knew it was going to take everything the Rangers had to break whatever spell Mesogog had put Tommy under.

_Mesogog's base…_

"Mesogog isn't going to be happy about losing Zeltrax," Elsa muttered as she and Tommy walked towards Mesogog's chamber.

"Zeltrax was weak ," Tommy replied "And unlike you, I do not fear Mesogog."

They entered his chamber and the look on Mesogog's face made Elsa immediately turn around and quickly walk out. Mesogog was furious at the Tommy for destroying Zeltrax and Elsa wanted no part of his wrath. He began to verbally berate the Black Ranger but Tommy showed no remorse or caring for his actions nor did he exhibit the fear that Mesogog was so used to seeing from those who served him.

"I refuse to hang my head and apologize like those fools that you call warriors," Tommy said firmly "I did what was necessary to insure that idiot Zeltrax did not ruin my plan for the destruction of the Power Rangers."

"Your plans? Your plans?" Mesogog hissed "You do not make plans, Black Ranger. You follow my orders and that is all that you do. I am in charge here! Do I make myself clear?"

The anger inside of Tommy had made him greedy for power, something Mesogog hadn't planned on. The Black Ranger immediately pulled out his Brachio Staff and placed it firmly against Mesogog's neck causing the dinosaur-like creature to shake nervously in fear.

"I have had just about enough of your senseless bantering, Mesogog," Tommy replied "If you want the Power Rangers destroyed we do things my way that understood?"

Mesogog managed to mutter an agreement as Tommy lowered his staff, turned around and swiftly began to walk away. Mesogog turned to the keypad behind him and pushed a button that caused Tommy to freeze mid-step and collapse. As he fell, he demorphed, leaving him unconscious on the floor.

"No one threatens Mesogog and lives," he hissed "You are not worthy to serve me and now you will pay for your insubordination, Tommy. With your life."

He summoned a group of Tyrannodrones who lifted the Black Ranger up and dropped him on a table. Mesogog had made Tommy far more evil then he had planned on and now he was out of control. He had to be eliminated so that he couldn't cause any more problems.

The Tyrannodrones strapped him down as Mesogog stepped to the side of the table. Mesogog hooked Tommy up to a machine and stepped back.

"This machine will drain all your energy, Black Ranger," Mesogog hissed "When it is done, there will be no remnants left of the great Tommy Oliver."

_Tommy's house…_

Haley and Billy were downstairs scanning for something to show them where Tommy was. Haley caught something glowing on the screen out of the corner of her eye and quickly zoomed in on the frequency.

"Only a Dino Gem could produce a signal that strong," she said to Billy "It has to be Tommy."

It took them a few minutes but eventually they got a lock on the signal. They looked at the screen and saw it had gone black as they heard a hissing sound. A few seconds later the picture came back but the sight they were seeing was not what they were expecting.

Somehow they had managed to create a feed into Mesogog's lab. They could see Tommy tied to the table, squirming and trying to break free of the straps. Haley winced at the sight of her friend on the table. Billy ran upstairs to get the others and when Kim saw Tommy she had to turn around. Jason held her closely as Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira looked at their mentor.

They could see the machine that was hovering over Tommy as it slowly started to take its effect. Everyone but Kim watched in horror as Tommy began to jerk violently.

"His signal is getting weaker," Billy muttered "Mesogog must be draining his power."

"We have to do something guys," Connor said.

"What if it's a trap like before?" Ethan asked.

"Either way, we can't let this happen to Dr. O," Trent interjected "I don't think we have another choice."

"We have to go and try to save him," Kira added.

Billy looked at the four teenagers with a sad look on his face as he shook his head.

"You guys can't go," Billy said "If that machine is draining Tommy of his energy, it will do the same thing to anyone else with a Dino Gem. Tommy is stronger than all of you so he can hold on longer, but if one of you was to go in there, it would kill you almost instantly."

"Billy we can't just leave Tommy in there," Kim moaned.

"I know," he replied "I'll go."

"No way, Billy," Haley interjected "I need you here with me in case something happens. You're the only one that can help me if something goes wrong."

"So then what do we do if we can't go in there to save him?" Trent asked "We can't just leave him there to die. There's gotta be something we can do."

Kimberly winced and grabbed Jason tighter when Trent said the word "die." Jason looked at the teens and then got an idea. He stuck his hand in his pocket as he pulled out his cell phone. He began to scroll through the numbers until he found the one he was looking for.

"There is something we can do," Jason replied.

"What?" everyone asked simultaneously.

"We call for reinforcements," he answered.

Jason highlighted the number and hit the dial button. He put the phone up to his ear and waited until he heard the line click.

"Hello," the voice answered.

"Adam, it's Jason" he replied "We need your help. Get Rocky and Zack and get over here now. Tommy's life depends on it."


	11. Rangers on the Rescue

Jason had sent the teens upstairs to wait for Adam, Rocky and Zack while he tried to formulate a plan with Haley, Billy and Kimberly. Billy had been pondering an idea and Jason could tell by the look on his face.

"I know that look anywhere. What's on your mind, Billy?" he asked.

Billy explained his plan to Jason and Kim who both had shocked looks on their faces after hearing it. They both seemed apprehensive and Haley had no idea what Billy was talking about.

"Do you really think that's possible?" Haley asked.

"I don't know," Billy replied "But I think it's our best shot at getting Tommy back safely."

As soon as Billy had finished his sentence, Adam, Rocky, Zack and the four teenagers came down the stairs. Adam saw that Kim was still fighting back tears and he looked at Jason.

"What's going on, Jase?" Adam asked.

"Zeltrax and Elsa kidnapped Tommy," he began "Then Mesogog turned him into an evil Ranger. Apparently something happened between Mesogog and Tommy that pissed Mesogog off because now he's draining all of Tommy's energy from him. If we don't rescue Tommy soon then…well, I don't want to think of what will happen if we don't get him back."

"Yeah, but why did you call us?" Zack asked "You're the one with the powers."

"Anyone with a connection to a Dino Gem that goes into the room where Tommy's being kept will immediately start to have their power drained," Billy replied "We can't risk sending someone in there with a Gem."

"So how can we do anything if we don't have powers?" Rocky asked.

"I don't think you're totally without power," Billy answered.

The three former Rangers all looked at Billy with confused expressions. No one had any idea what he was talking about.

"When Andros destroyed Zordon's energy tube years ago, it destroyed all existing evil but it also purified the Earth," Billy continued "I can't be certain but Zordon's sacrifice may have restored your powers which would explain why Jason was able to morph into the Red Ranger a couple years ago."

"Wait a sec," Zack interjected "Are you telling me that we can morph again?"

"Like I said, Zack, I'm not one-hundred percent positive, but right now we're running out of options," Billy replied.

"I'm in," Adam said instinctively.

"Me too," Rocky replied,

"I'd say yes, but I don't have a power coin," Zack added "I gave mine to Adam, remember?"

Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out the old Mastodon power coin. He handed it to Zack who looked at him with a confused expression.

"You just carry this thing around?" Zack asked Adam.

"It's part of who I am. I hold on to it for good luck," Adam explained.

"Are you sure man? I don't feel right taking this from you," Zack replied.

"It's okay," Adam answered "You need it more than I do right now."

"Okay, well that solves one of us," Rocky said "But what about Adam and I?"

"The last powers that you and Adam had sole possession of was the Zeo Powers," Billy replied "I think you're best bet is to try and activate your Zeonizers."

"Wait, even if we can morph, won't going into this room have the same effect on us as it's having on Tommy?" Rocky asked.

"No," Billy answered "Your powers are tied to the Zeo Crystal and Zack's is tied to the Power Coin, The machine in the room will only recognize and react to someone that is bonded with a Dino Gem."

Adam and Rocky nodded to Billy as they looked at each other and tried to awaken the power inside of them. They closed their eyes and concentrated on the power but nothing happened.

"It's not working," Rocky said.

"Concentrate harder on the power inside," Jason replied "Tommy needs you and so do we. Once a Ranger, always a Ranger guys."

They both nodded as they cleared their minds and made another attempt. Adam and Rocky both felt a sudden rush of energy as their Zeonizers appeared.

"Unbelievable," Adam muttered.

"This is incredible," Rocky replied.

"Guys, we can't stress enough how dangerous this is going to be," Billy began "Haley's gonna get you as close to the room as possible. From there it's up to you guys. Get Tommy out of that room and back to where you came from. Haley's gonna keep an Invisiportal open for you guys as long as she can but try and get out of there as quickly as possible."

Adam looked at Rocky and Zack who smiled at him. Jason gave them all head nods and asked if they were ready to which they all said yes.

Jason unclipped his Morpher from his belt and popped out his Dino Gem.

"Here, bro. You're gonna need this," he said as he handed the Morpher to Zack who put the Power Coin in the opening.

"Once more for old-times sake guys," Adam said putting his hand behind his back "It's Morphin' Time!"

"Zeo Ranger Three, Blue!" Rocky called.

"Zeo Ranger Four, Green!" Adam finished.

"Mastodon!" Zack yelled.

The three former Rangers felt the familiar surge of energy rush over them. Their helmets clicked shut and instinctively, they all looked down to admire themselves.

"Damn, I forgot how good I looked in green," Adam joked.

Haley opened the Invisiportal for them as they prepared to leave. Just as they were about to go, Kim stood up and told them to wait.

"Guys, I want you to know how much I appreciate you doing this," she began "No one is making you go and you're all taking a huge and dangerous risk in doing this. Tommy would be proud of you all."

"You keep talking like that and making it sound all dangerous and stuff and I might change my mind," Rocky replied with a laugh.

Kim smiled towards Rocky as she put her arms around him and pulled him in close. Then she hugged Zack before throwing her arms around Adam.

"Be safe guys, please," Kim said softly.

"Don't worry, Kimmy. We'll be back with the boy in black before you know it," Zack said reassuringly.

They quickly waved goodbye and entered the Invisiportal, disappearing out of sight.

"I really hope this works," Billy muttered.

Suddenly the alarm went off as everyone looked to the screen. A bunch of Tyrannodrones and Elsa were attacking Reefside. Jason looked at Kim who was in no condition to fight and then at the teenagers.

"You guys got this?" Jason asked.

"Definitely," Connor replied "Haley can we get an Invisiportal too?"

Haley smiled at Connor and said yes as she quickly went to work typing in the coordinates. Connor looked at Ethan, Trent and Kira.

"For Dr. O," he said.

"For Dr. O," they replied in unison.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up, Ha!" Connor, Ethan and Kira yelled.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent called.

They quickly disappeared into the Invisiportal that Haley had opened for them leaving just Jason, Kim, Billy and Haley in the basement command center.

_Mesogog's base…_

Adam, Rocky and Zack landed in a dark corridor in Mesogog's base. Adam slowly stuck his head around the corner but quickly pulled it back.

"There's three Tyrannodrones guarding a door at the end of the hallway," he whispered "That must be where Tommy is."

"We gotta figure out how to get by those things without alerting them," Zack replied.

"Screw that," Rocky interjected "There's only three of them. I'm going in."

Adam and Zack tried to pull him back but it was too late. He had pulled out his Zeo Blaster and was running at full speed towards the Tyrannodrones.

"Shit," Adam muttered "Let's go before he gets himself killed."

Adam and Zack took off after Rocky as he started shooting at the drones. They went down quickly and he turned around to look at Adam and Zack.

"See, told ya guys," he said "No biggie."

The hissing sound of pressure being released echoed throughout the corridor as the doors behind Rocky opened. He turned back around and saw at least twenty Tyrannodrones.

"Okay. Biggie," he muttered as Adam and Zack launched themselves over the top of him to fight the creatures.

_Reefside, same time…_

Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira all landed just in time to see Elsa leading a charge of Tyrannodrones at a group of civilians. They took off running towards them as Elsa noticed them out of the corner of her eye.

"Come to join your precious leader, have you?" she taunted "Tyrannodrones, attack!"

Ethan, Trent and Kira immediately engaged the Tyrannodrones while Connor went after Elsa. Elsa pulled out her sword as Connor called for his Tyranno Staff and got the weapon up just in time to block Elsa's attack. He pushed Elsa back and swung his staff high. Elsa ducked underneath it but Connor had expected that.

As he was swinging his staff high he spun himself around and lowered himself down. Elsa never saw the attack coming as Connor took Elsa's legs out from underneath her, watched her fall to her back and turned around to walk away.

"Just like a turtle," he muttered "Once you're on your back you're fu…"

"Connor!" Kira yelled, cutting him off.

His super-speed allowed him to see everything in very slow motion and he flipped himself backwards, narrowly missing Elsa's sword. Elsa turned around to face him but she would have been better off staying where she was.

As soon as she turned around Connor swung his staff in an uppercut connecting with Elsa right underneath her chin. He watched her fly into the air and grimaced underneath his helmet when he heard the thud of her body connecting with the concrete.

He turned around to go help his friends but he saw they were doing just fine. Kira was slicing drone after drone with her Ptera-Grips and Trent was making quick work of them with his Drago Sword. Ethan blocked every attack with his Tricera-Shield and countered quickly with his Thundermax Saber. Soon, the only thing left besides the Rangers was Elsa who had finally managed to get herself up to her feet and was disappearing into an Invisiportal.

The Rangers regrouped and congratulated each other on their decisive victory. Connor called Haley and asked for an Invisiportal which he got quickly. They disappeared into it hoping that Adam, Rocky and Zack were having as much luck as they did.

_Mesogog's base…_

Out of the dumbest luck they had ever seen in their history of being Rangers, Adam, Rocky and Zack had managed to take out a small army of Tyrannodrones in one shot. Considering Rocky nearly ruined their whole plan, it was only fitting that he was the one who took out the drones.

The room that Tommy was being kept in was a three-story room with a catwalk around the upper perimeter. For some reason, unbeknownst to them, there was a large metal crate hanging from the ceiling.

"Just keep them in the middle," Rocky had said, not telling Adam or Zack what he was doing.

He took off up the stairs and around the catwalk until he found a position he could jump from. He climbed up on the ledge and tried not to look down.

"Let's hope this works," he muttered as he launched himself towards the crate.

He hit the side of the box and almost fell to the floor below but somehow he managed to pull himself up and into a standing position. He pulled out his Zeo Blade and called to Adam and Zack. They looked up and saw him making a cutting motion with his non-sword hand, showing them what he was going to do. They acknowledged him and continued to keep the Tyrannodrones and the fight in the center of the room.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered as he took his sword and cut the rope in one quick motion "Cowabunga!"

Rocky yelled loudly as the crate took off, plummeting towards the ground below. When he was about ten feet from the ground, he launched himself into a back flip and landed on the floor. Just a split-second before the crate met the floor, Adam and Zack dove out of the way, narrowly missing being flattened.

Now that the Tyrannodrones were out the way, they could try and rescue Tommy. The room was huge and it was possible it could take awhile to find him.

"No, get away from me!" Tommy yelled.

"It's coming from that corner," Adam said to Rocky and Zack.

Tommy's voice kept getting louder so they kicked it in to high gear. When they finally got to him, he was strapped down to the table, apparently asleep, but he was writhing in pain.

"Zack, you and Rocky work on shutting this machine off," Adam ordered "I can't watch him like this, I'm gonna try and hold him down."

Rocky and Zack acknowledged Adam and ran over to the control pad. There was no visible "off" button and neither of them wanted to push something that could possibly make it worse on Tommy.

"If we only had communicators we could call Billy," Zack muttered "He'd know what to do."

"Guys, hurry up over there! He's losing energy fast," Adam yelled.

"Screw it," Rocky said as he pulled his Zeo Blade back out "I hope this works."

He swung at the keypad as hard as he could, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Sparks began to fly from the small pad as the machine over Tommy stopped humming and shut off. Suddenly the lights started to flicker and then go out.

"Bad idea, Rocky," Zack muttered.

"Hey, it made the machine stop didn't it?" he replied.

Before Zack could answer the lights started to flicker again and come back on. Zack and Rocky took ran over to where Adam was standing as Tommy laid motionless.

Adam put his arm on Tommy's shoulder and pushed it a little trying to wake him up but it wasn't working. He had just slept through their whole fight and two power surges, a push on the shoulder wasn't going to wake him. All three of the Rangers got right next to Tommy's face and yelled his name as loud as they could.

His eyes fluttered a little bit and when they finally opened he thought he was still dreaming.

"Come on, let me out of here. I'll take you down," he yelled "You wannabe Rangers think you can take me. I'll never let Mesogog win!"

"I think he's back," Rocky muttered.

Adam popped his helmet off as Rocky and Zack followed suit. Tommy saw who it was and his eyes grew wide.

"You…that's impossible…you're not…but how?" he said in shock.

"It's a long story, Tommy. We'll explain later" Adam replied "Right now we gotta get you out of here. Let's get him unstrapped guys."

The three of them immediately went to work on the straps that held Tommy to the table. It took them a couple minutes but eventually they got them off. Tommy tried to sit up but Adam held him down.

"No way, bro" he began "You're too weak to walk out of here right now. I'll carry you."

Tommy tried to argue but Adam wasn't hearing it. After they put back on their helmets he picked Tommy up as they started to head back the way they came in. Just as they got to the door, another group of Tyrannodrones appeared.

"Cover me, guys!" Adam yelled.

Zack and Rocky both pulled out their blasters and started to shoot at the drones who scurried in different directions. When they got out the door Rocky pointed his blaster at the pad on the wall and fired at it. The doors sealed shut instantly, leaving the Tyrannodrones in the room behind them.

They ran back down the hallway and turned the corner into the corridor they landed in. Luckily, the Invisiportal was still open. Adam went in first with Tommy, followed by Zack. Rocky was the last one in and he made it just in time because just as he entered the portal, Mesogog and another group of Tyrannodrones came running at him.

"Sayonara, suckers!" he taunted as the portal closed behind him.

_Tommy's house…_

When Rocky stepped out of the portal, the basement command center was empty. He popped off his helmet again and set it on the desk before he started climbing up the stairs. When he opened the door, he saw that Tommy was laying on the couch. Kim was on her knees, crying, with her arms around Tommy's neck.

She turned around, saw Rocky, got up immediately and ran towards him. She threw her arms around him as Rocky wrapped his own arms around her.

"Thank you so much, Rocky," she whispered through tears.

"Hey, it's no big deal. Besides, I'm sure he would have done the same for us," he replied.

Rocky let go of Kim and walked over to where Tommy was on the couch. Jason, Billy, Haley, Adam, Zack, Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira were all sitting or standing around him. Connor and Ethan moved out of the way so Rocky could get next to Tommy.

Rocky stuck his hand out for Tommy to shake, but he shook his head. Tommy grimaced a little bit as he opened his arms to give Rocky a hug.

"Thank you, Rocky. For everything," he whispered.

At that moment Rocky wished he hadn't taken off his helmet because he was blushing profusely. Tommy was in visible pain but he slowly managed to work himself into a semi-sitting position. He looked at all his friends and they saw that he had tears in his eyes.

"Guys, I'm so sorry for hurting you," he muttered fighting off the tears "And even though I did those things you guys were still there to help me. I owe you all my life."

"Tommy," Jason replied "You don't owe us anything because you would have done the exact same thing for everyone in this room. What matters is your back safely."

Kim was back by Tommy's side, still crying and holding onto him. He pushed her back a little bit and looked her right in the eyes.

"I said some horrible things to you, Kim," he said "And even though I had no control over my actions, I know my words hurt you. I want you to know how sorry I am. I love you Kim and I promise as long as I live I will never hurt you again."

Kim smiled at Tommy through tears as she leaned forward and gently kissed him on the forehead.

"I love you too. Tommy," she replied "Now get some rest, okay?"

Tommy looked up at her, smiled and nodded. The four teenaged Rangers turned to walk out the door but Tommy called for them to stop.

"From what Jason told me you guys did great today," he said softly "I feel honored to be on the same team as you four."

They smiled at Tommy and nodded their heads. Connor opened the door for his friends as they slipped out quietly, leaving Tommy to rest.

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_Okay so that was an obscenely long chapter. I just got into a rhythm and couldn't stop writing. Hope you enjoy the chapter._


	12. Surprise, Tommy

Tommy had been extremely depressed since Adam, Rocky and Zack had rescued him from Mesogog's base nearly a week ago. He was trying hard to focus on the team and his friends but most of the time all he could think about was the bad things he'd done recently.

Kim had taken notice of this and, when Tommy was at the gym one afternoon with Jason, she had called Kira, Zack, Kat, Connor and Ethan and asked them to come over. She explained to them what she wanted to do when they arrived and everyone was beyond enthusiastic at her idea.

She smiled at her friends as she sat at Tommy's computer and hit the "print" button. She pulled out three pieces of paper from the printer, handing two to Kira and one to Kat. The two girls looked over the papers and gave smiles to Kim.

"They're gonna love it," Kira said quietly even though no one was around but them.

"I agree, Kira. This is going to be great," Kat added.

"I sure hope so," Kim replied "I can't stand to see Tommy moping around anymore. It breaks my heart to know how much he is hurting right now."

"So when are we going to do this?" Connor asked.

"Tonight" Zack answered "We gotta make sure everyone is there for this."

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Tommy attacked the punching bag Jason was holding with the same ferocity that his best friend had done in the Youth Center years ago when Tommy, as the Green Ranger, had first attacked the Power Rangers. Tears started to form in Tommy's eyes as he continued to punch the bag until his body could no longer do it anymore.

He fell to his knees, holding onto the bottom of the bag. Jason helped Tommy to his feet as he wrapped an arm around his best friend's shoulder and led him quietly into the locker room, away from the very public gym.

As they entered the locker room, Tommy ripped off his shirt and flung it against the wall as he fought back the tears that seemed to be never ending these days.

"What was that about?" Jason asked with a stern voice, a voice Tommy hadn't heard in years.

"Huh?" he murmured back.

"This," Jason said as he pulled off his shirt and did the same thing "Do you have any idea how childish you look right now?"

Tommy stared at his friend with a blank expression on his face. Instead of giving Jason a response, Tommy stormed away and went into the sauna, slamming the door behind him. Jason shook his head as he followed Tommy into the steam room and locked the door from the inside so no one could come in and disturb them.

"What? Come to chastise me some more?" Tommy asked with a hint of mean sarcasm in his voice.

"No," Jason replied softly "I just want you to see what you're doing not only to yourself but to the people around you that you supposedly care about."

"I'm really not in the mood for a lecture, Jason," Tommy said sternly.

"I don't care what you're in the mood for," Jason replied "You're gonna sit there and hear every word I have to say, understood?"

Tommy rolled his eyeballs at Jason and shook his head. He stood up and headed for the door but Jason grabbed him and pushed him back down onto the bench.

"It's not like we're kids anymore. You're not the leader," Tommy said "You can't tell me what to do anymore, Jason."

"You think I care if I'm the leader or not?" Jason asked "This isn't about that. This is about you're shitty attitude tearing you away from every person in your life that gives a damn about you!"

Tommy looked at Jason, as the words hit him hard. He buried his face in his hands as Jason sat next to him and put his arm around Tommy's shoulder. Tommy let the tears flow freely. When Jason was around he didn't have to be the fearless leader, always hiding his emotions, always appearing strong and composed.

"What is wrong with me, Jase?" Tommy asked in a whisper.

"The same thing that's been wrong with you since you were sixteen years old. You feel like you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders and when you collapse under the pressure of it, you beat yourself up," Jason replied "Some things are just out of your control, like what happened with Mesogog. You had absolutely no control over what happened but you continue to feel like everyone hates you when all we want you to do is love and appreciate yourself."

"But it seems like every time I start to get close to someone, I end up hurting them," Tommy answered "Kim had known me for literally one day and remember how hurt she was when Rita made me her Green Ranger? Remember how hurt Kat was when King Mondo turned me against everyone?"

"Yeah, I do remember, I was there for both of them," Jason answered "But what I remember more than that was that me, Kim, Kat and the rest of your teammates were all there to welcome you back with open arms regardless of what you did. Just like how you welcomed Kim back after all these years even though she hurt you as badly as she did."

"I guess I feel like I have to put on this face that says 'no matter what you do to me I'll be okay' when, in reality, I have the same emotions as everyone else," Tommy continued "I want everyone to like me which is why I forgive them so quickly when they hurt me but tear myself up inside when I hurt them."

"I know, Tommy. I really do. You've been my best friend since we were sixteen man," Jason muttered "But you have to be able to just let some things go by the wayside, bro. You're gonna go nuts if you try to deal with everything on your own, that's why we're all here. When you're happy, every single one of us is happy but when you're hurting, we're all hurting right there with you, T. But you have to learn to talk about it when you're hurting instead of bottling it up inside you until it explodes. Teams share the burden and divide the grief, bro."

Tommy looked at his friend and managed a small smile. It was one of the few times in recent memory that he didn't have to force the smile for the sake of appeasing the others. He stood up and gave Jason a hug before leaving the steam room. Tommy walked out the door as Jason followed a few steps behind him.

"Ya know, you got a cute ass," Jason said with a laugh as he rolled up his towel and snapped it at Tommy's leg before he could turn around. As soon as the cloth met flesh Tommy fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Oh shit, are you okay bro? I didn't mean to…" Jason began but Tommy cut him off as he rolled to his back and squeezed his water bottle as hard as he could, spraying Jason in the face.

Tommy hopped up and made a beeline for the locker room door, as three guys who were changing looked at Tommy and Jason and rolled their eyes in disgust at the apparent immaturity, not understanding the relationship that the two best friends and brothers in everything but blood shared.

Jason saw them out of the corner of his eye and turned to them, causing Tommy to stop at the door. He started to walk towards them like he wanted to fight but stopped a few feet short of them.

"Jason, don't do it, it's not worth it," Tommy said.

"Yeah, Jason," one of the guys replied "It's not worth it."

"Yeah, let your boyfriend boss you around," the second guy said with a sneer.

"I guess we know who wears the pants in the relationship," the third guy said as his friends laughed with him.

Jason looked at Tommy as his friend, smiled and gave him a small head nod. The three guys who seconds ago were laughing at them immediately got serious as Jason jumped into the air with a tornado kick.

When he came down he kicked his leg low, then waist high before throwing his leg as high into the air as possible. He punched the air in front of him multiple times as hard and fast as he could before jumping into a scissor kick. As he landed he launched quickly into another one of his famous tornado kicks and made sure it swept directly over the heads of the three guys, also making sure it didn't connect with any of their heads.

The three guys looked at Jason in a combination of awe and fear as Jason tried his best not to smile. He covered the smile as best he could, stood straight up, looked right at the three guys and bowed to them.

"Have a nice day, ladies," Jason said with a laugh as he tossed his towel at them and exited the locker room with his arm around Tommy's shoulder. They jumped in fear as the door opened and Tommy walked in.

"Hey would you mind tossing me those shirts over there?" he asked as one of the guys picked them up and threw them to Tommy "Sorry, I'd let you guys keep them but they don't come in little girl sizes."

He laughed at the three guys who had their heads down, afraid of looking at him as he exited the locker room, this time for good.

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When Tommy and Jason pulled up to the house, they noticed that the massive amount of cars that had pulled up right when they left that afternoon had disappeared. He walked into the house with Jason and called out for his friends and teammates but no one answered..

Tommy and Jason walked into the kitchen as Tommy noticed a piece of paper taped to the fridge that wasn't there when he left. He pulled it off the fridge and started to read it out loud.

_Tommy and Jason,_

_If you're reading this right now, sorry we missed you guys. Something came up and we had to run out immediately. Don't worry, there's no danger and no one's in trouble (that means you Tommy!). Haley wanted to get us all together so she asked me to have you two meet us all at the café around eight. We'll see you guys there!_

_Love,_

_Kim and Kat_

"Typical Kim and Kat," Tommy muttered to Jason as he reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a water bottle for himself and one for Jason.

"Yup," Jason replied "And if I know Kim and Kat they'll already have some big surprise planned out for us."

"I hate surprises," Tommy grumbled as Jason shot him a look that quickly changed his facial expression "But I'll go along with it."

"Good," Jason replied as he looked at his watch "It's already six, bro. Go catch a quick shower so we can get out of here by 7:30 and save me some hot water!"

Tommy shook his head and laughed at his friend as he walked into his bedroom. He looked at the picture on the nightstand and froze. The picture was of all his teammates, new and old, along with Haley. He sat on the edge of his bed and picked the frame up off the nightstand. Everyone was in the picture and in the center, just like always, Tommy and Kim sat next to each other smiling brightly.

"I love you guys," Tommy whispered as he smiled at the picture and set it back on his nightstand before getting into the shower.

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Tommy and Jason managed to get out of the house at 7:50, twenty minutes later than they wanted. Tommy floored his Jeep as fast as it could go but they were still ten minutes late. As they walked in, they saw Kim and Kat sitting next to each other, but on two separate couches.

"Hey boys," Kat said as they walked in.

"Fashionably late is so out of style," Kim continued as she smiled at the two men.

"Sorry," Jason muttered "We would have been here sooner but Mr. GQ here had to make sure every damn spike in his hair was symmetrically perfect."

"Hey, just because you have had the same hair style since 1993 doesn't mean you can harp on me for looking good," Tommy shot back "And by the way, it's Dr. GQ to you."

The four friends all laughed out loud as one of the café workers came over carrying a tray with four drinks for them. The two men smiled at each other because Kim and Kat had taken the liberty of ordering for them, something they were used to doing for the girls, not the other way around.

Kim smiled at Tommy as she scooted over and gently touched her hand to the seat next to her. Tommy sat on the couch with Kim by his side and his arm wrapped around her.

Jason and Kat shared the couch adjacent to the one that Tommy and Kim sat on. The four of them couldn't help but smile at each other. The bond they shared with one another extended far beyond the realm of friendship and entered a territory that even some of the closest of families would never experience.

Tommy noticed that all of the Rangers were in the room in some capacity except for Connor and Ethan who were conspicuously absent.

Connor and Ethan were actually back stage and intentionally out of sight from the others. They were helping in the execution of the surprise for their Ranger friends at Kim's request.

Kira was sitting on a stool on the small stage with an acoustic guitar in hand. From their spot on the couch they could see Trent in the front row beaming at Kira as she sang. Kira looked right at him, smiling the whole time. Trent felt like she was singing directly to him and that made him feel like the king of the world.

As Tommy continued to scan the room he saw that Billy and Haley were sitting at a table with Adam enjoying the music and chatting amongst themselves along with Rocky, Aisha, Zack and Trini who had taken the table next to them.

As soon as Kira finished singing her song she got up from the stool and quickly went behind the curtain. When she came back out a few seconds later she was carrying another guitar as Ethan came out with two microphone stands and Connor shortly followed behind with two extra stools.

They quickly disappeared backstage again, leaving Kira on the stage alone with two guitars, three stools and three microphone stands. They came back with one more stool and one more microphone stand before walking down the stairs and taking seats in the crowd on either side of Trent.

"What's she doing with all that stuff, bro?" Jason asked Tommy.

"I have no idea, Jase," Tommy replied.

Kim smiled at Tommy as she lifted his arm from around her shoulder and stood up. Tommy looked at her with a confused expression and she couldn't help but giggle a little bit.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"You'll see," she replied "It's a surprise."

Suddenly, Kat stood up and followed Kim. Jason and Tommy looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders signifying that neither of them had any idea what was going on.

As the two women passed the table that Zack, Trini, Aisha and Rocky were sharing they heard Trini ask the now standing Zack the same question that Tommy had asked Kim.

"You'll see in a second babe," Zack said as he wrapped his arms around the shoulders of Kim and Kat. From across the room Jason, Tommy and Trini managed to exchange looks of pure confusion which soon turned into utter disbelief.

Kim, Kat and Zack walked up the steps on the side of the stage and took seats on each side of Kira, with Kat sitting on the end next to Kim. Zack adjusted his microphone stand along with Kat as Kim did the same thing before picking up the acoustic guitar and strapping it around her shoulder. Zack brought his lips to the microphone and began to speak.

"For those of you in the room who don't know us, my name is Zachary Taylor and the two women all you teenage boys are gawking at are Katherine Hillard and Kimberly Hart. But be warned boys, they are DEFINITELY taken," he said with a laugh before Kat took over with blushed cheeks.

"Thanks, Zack. We wanted to sing a little song for a handful of very special people who are in the audience tonight," she said as she looked at Jason and shot him a wink while Kim, Kira and Zack did the same with Tommy, Trent and Trini before Kim took over.

Tommy and Jason smiled at each other as they got up from the couch and moved towards the center of the audience taking seats next to Trini. In a sign of unity, the former teammates maneuvered eight chairs into a straight line. Connor, Ethan and Trent saw what they had done, quickly grabbed their chairs and walked back to them.

"Mind if we join you, Dr. O?" Conner asked softly.

"Not at all, guys. Not at all," Tommy replied with a smile as they set their chairs down at the end of the line.

They were lined up intentionally in chronological order starting with Trini, Billy, Jason and Tommy. Adam, Rocky and Aisha sat next to the original Rangers as the three male Dino Thunder Rangers and Haley sat at the end. Tommy looked at Kim who smiled at him before she began to speak.

"Tommy, Jason, Billy, Trini, Adam, Rocky, Aisha, Connor, Ethan, Trent and Haley, this song is for the eleven of you that share that special bond with us," Kim said "Before we begin I want you to know that HE is watching and that he is proud of us all, wherever he may be."

The seven Rangers who knew what Kim was talking about all exchanged smiles that did their best to comfort each other at the thought of Zordon. Tommy looked at Haley and mouthed the word "Zordon" as she nodded and quickly explained to the teenagers who HE was. He was the reason that the fifteen of them, all with completely different personalities and backgrounds, managed to unite under one mantle as the best of friends and the closest of families.

Trini put her arm around Billy which sparked a chain reaction as Billy put his arm around Jason who did the same to Tommy. The veteran Ranger put his arm around Adam and watched as it continued down the line, finishing with Ethan putting his arm around Haley.

The four friends and teammates on the stage looked at the group and smiled brightly. Kim leaned forward so only her three stage mates could hear her.

"We're blessed to be a part of this guys," she whispered.

"Every second of every day," Zack replied with a smile.

"Let's give them something great," Kat added.

"Let's make this one of their most memorable nights together," Kira interjected as the four friends all nodded their heads in unison. They all cleared their throats, not wanting to make any vocal mistakes as Kim and Kira pulled their picks from the neck of their guitars.

When Tommy heard Kim and Kira begin to stroke their guitars, his heart nearly melted right there. He wiped a tear from his eye as he looked at Jason, Billy and Trini and saw that none of them had dry eyes either. Kim looked right at Tommy and mouthed the words "for you" as she brought her lips to the microphone and began to sing with Kira.

_Down the road, we never know  
What life may have in store  
Winds of change you rearrange  
Our lives worse than before  
_

Tommy wiped more tears from his eyes as best he could with his left arm that was around Jason as the song took him back more than a decade. It was the same song that Kim had wrote and, along with Zack, performed for him in the Youth Center right before he permanently lost his Green Ranger powers. It was right after Tommy and Kim showed one of the greatest showings of teamwork in Ranger history when Tommy gave Kim his Draggon Dagger which she used as an arrow in her bow to destroy Guitardo.

He felt like his world was crashing down on him that day and that everything he had worked so hard to achieve had been taken from him but Kim was right there that afternoon,along with Zack, Jason, Billy and Trini, to remind him that, even without powers, he was still and would always be, their friend. Tommy smiled to himself as he realized that the song held the same meaning it did back then. He understood now that, no matter what he did or how bad he messed up, he would always have his friends to turn too.

The eleven friends looked at the stage and saw that Zack and Kat were preparing to jump in. Jason and Tommy squeezed each other's shoulders as the four on the stage smiled and began to harmonize with each other.

_But you'll never stand alone my friends  
Memories never die  
And in our hearts  
They will always live and never say goodbye_

Kat, Kira and Zack all fell silent as Kim took a deep breath and prepared to sing alone a new verse that she had just added especially for Tommy.

_Green dragons fly, white tigers roar  
White falcons, they always soar  
But your crane will be right by your side  
They will always live and never say goodbye_

Tommy nearly lost it right there in the crowd. No one had ever seen him happier than he was at that moment with Kim singing to him, telling him that they would be together forever no matter what happened. Zack, Kat and Kira all put their lips to their microphones, preparing to sing one last time together.

_But you'll never stand alone my friends  
Memories never die  
And in our hearts  
They will always live and never say goodbye  
Those memories will never say goodbye  
Never say goodbye_

Everyone in the crowd stood up and clapped and cheered in unison for them but the Rangers sat still on Tommy's instructions. The four on the stage had disappointed looks on their faces when they saw their friends were still sitting silently in the crowd.

After a minute or so of applause the crowd calmed back down and returned to their seats. Just as Kim, Kat, Zack and Kira were starting to leave the stage Tommy looked down the line both ways and nodded as eleven people in the crowd all stood up and began clapping loudly in unison.

Now the singers were the ones fighting off tears as three generations of Rangers all stood up in their own special applause. Trini in yellow, Billy in blue, Jason in red with a gold tie, Tommy in black slacks, a white shirt and a green and red striped tie, Adam in black with a green tie, Rocky in red with a blue tie, Aisha in yellow, Connor in red, Trent in white, Ethan in blue and Haley, the only civilian they had ever trusted with their secret and who had no color distinction, had on a little bit of every color in the Ranger rainbow.

The four of them ran off the stage and into the arms of their significant others with Kim going to Tommy, Kat going to Jason, Kira going to Trent and Haley going to Billy. No one knew what was going on with the last two people and that was the way the couple…err…not couple wanted it.

"You were fantastic, Beautiful?" Tommy whispered.

"Thanks, Handsome," Kim replied as she bit her lip a little.

She broke their hug a few seconds later and winked at him as she went down the line to hug everyone else, starting with Trini and ending with Haley. Tommy looked at her, smiled and got lost in thought over her a bit but he quickly was brought back into reality as Kat threw her arms around his neck.

He hugged Zack and then hugged, albeit semi-awkwardly, Kira.

"That was beautiful, Kira," he said softly so only she could hear it. The young girl looked genuinely touched at his compliment.

"Thanks, Dr. O," she said as he patted her on the shoulder and watched her continue down the line until Kim popped up in his line of vision. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close.

"She reminds me of you in so many ways," Tommy whispered "And if she grows up to be half the woman you are, she'll only be amazing."

Kim giggled at Tommy's crash and burn attempt at a deep and romantic compliment. She ignored the fact that he had never been great in these types of situations.

"Tommy?" Kim asked in a whisper.

"Yes, Beautiful?" he replied.

"I want to live with you," she answered.

"What do you mean? You already do," Tommy questioned in confusion.

"I mean permanently, Tommy," she explained "I want to move to Reefside and be with you."

"I think I'd like that very much," Tommy replied as he bent down and kissed the love of his life softly on the lips, cherishing the moment until he felt Rocky jump on his back as Adam and Jason put their arms around Tommy and Kim and led them out the door with their eleven best friends right behind them.

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_Wow, what a freaking chapter. I'm sorry it took so long. You must have all been scratching yourselves after two days without an update. HAHAHA. J/K. In all seriousness though, this chapter really took a lot of effort. More than I have put into any of my other works on this site. I juggled three or four ideas back and forth in my head, one even included Rocky nearly dying because he morphed again after Billy told him it was too dangerous, before deciding on this one. I went to YouTube so I could hear the song and write down the lyrics for it and, I gotta admit, I got a tad bit emotional. Is that okay to get emotional over Power Rangers? LOL. I honestly think this is probably the best chapter I have ever written for this site and I've written close to 40. For the first time, I will be anticipating your reviews more than you anticipate the next chapter. I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say about this._

_ Cheers,  
WK _


	13. Pain

"Are you gonna be okay without me for a couple weeks, Handsome?" Kim asked softly.

"I don't know but I'm gonna do my best," Tommy replied as he kissed her softly on the forehead.

They headed up the escalator towards the security checkpoint at Reefside Airport, as Tommy held onto her hand for dear life. She hadn't expected to show up and fall back in love with Tommy and she definitely hadn't expected Tommy to take her back so willingly. Being separated from each other was going to be hard but the end result was worth it to both of them.

Kim was flying back to Florida to sell off some of her things that she couldn't travel with and to give notice at her job before moving back to Reefside with Tommy. Neither Kim nor Tommy was extremely wealthy but they both lived fairly comfortably and had some savings put aside.

Three days before she was set to fly back to Florida, her and Tommy met with Tommy's bank and had gotten a small loan. There was a modest two-story building in downtown Reefside that Kim loved and Tommy agreed would be a great place to open their own dojo/gymnastics school together.

Tommy was a teacher at heart and was always looking to offer advice to young kids interested in the martial arts that he, along with the other Power Rangers who ended up on TV more than once, had resurrected an interest in.

Since quitting the U.S. gymnastics team five years earlier, Kim had been an accountant. Never satisfied with her career choice, opening the school with Tommy would be a new beginning for her in more ways than one.

It was the perfect time for Kim to leave. Mesogog had been quiet for a few days and, if worst came to worst, the Rangers had Adam, Rocky and Zack. Kim hated the fact that she had to leave but she understood if she didn't do it now it would only be harder down the road since no one knew how long Mesogog would be around for accompanied by the fact that she had used up almost all her vacation time at work.

After a few more minutes they finally got to the security checkpoint having delayed her departure as much as humanly possible. As Tommy turned to face her he took both her hands in his own.

It was a scene that was familiar to anyone who knew the two. It was just like high school with Tommy looking down at Kim, holding her hands while she stared into his eyes, both smiling at each other. They didn't have a care in the world as long as they were together.

Tommy kissed her softly on the lips as he pulled her in close. He held onto her for as long as he could until any more delay would cause Kim to miss her flight. He gave her one last kiss as he let go of her.

"Bye, Beautiful," he whispered to her.

"It's not bye, Handsome. It's see ya later," she replied as she grabbed his head and kissed him passionately until the lack of oxygen caused her to break the kiss.

"Be safe, Kim," Tommy pleaded.

"I will," she answered "I love you, Tommy."

"I love you, too, Beautiful," he said with a smile.

He watched her go through security and turn into the waiting area until she was out of sight. He exhaled deeply as he turned around and headed back to the escalator. When he reached the bottom of the escalator, Jason and Kat were waiting for him, just like Tommy and Kim had left them.

Jason and Kat had driven with them to the airport but Tommy had asked for a few minutes of alone time with Kimberly before she left which they happily gave him. They both looked at Tommy as their friend did his best to hide his tears from them.

Kat handed him a tissue which he accepted with a smile. Jason and Kat both put an arm around him as they exited the airport together and headed towards the parking garage.

They had had to park on the top floor of the garage, so they hopped in the elevator from the basement level. As the door opened and the three friends stepped out, Tommy heard the familiar crackling of an Invisiportal. He looked up and saw a group of Tyrannodrones land a few feet in front of them.

"Kat, stay back!" Jason commanded sternly.

Kat looked at Tommy as if to ask him to supersede Jason. Tommy then gave Jason a look that said 'she can take care of herself, she was a Ranger too' as Jason rolled his eyes and conceded to Tommy and Kat. They ran towards the Tyrannodrones and immediately engaged them.

Tommy looked at Jason as they both nodded. Tommy flicked his wrist to summon his Brachio Morpher while Jason unclipped his Morpher that Zack had just recently returned to him.

"Black Ranger, Dino Thunder Power!" Tommy yelled.

"Green Ranger Power!" Jason called.

"Zeo Ranger One, Pink!" Kat finished.

Everyone, including the Tyrannodrones, stared at Kat not knowing what had just happened.

"How did you…?" Tommy asked.

"What the…?" Jason added.

"I figured that if Adam and Rocky could do it, so could I," she answered as they shrugged their shoulders.

From the street, people could make out the shapes of a group of people fighting which quickly caused a good sized crowd to form. Gasps were heard from everyone there when they saw the flashes of light and watched the three people morph into Power Rangers.

Tommy had forced two of the Tyrannodrones towards the edge of the structure and had just launched himself into a flip over their heads. He landed mere inches from falling off and plummeting fifteen stories but he knew the Tyrannodrones were stupid and would take the bait. Right when he landed, they dove at him and he sidestepped the attack perfectly.

He could almost hear a few of the onlookers scream when the two creatures connected with a fatal thud against the concrete below. He smacked his gloves together as if he was dusting them off then turned around. He had to duck quickly as another drone dove at him and joined its' companions on the ground below.

Kat had just thrown a Tyrannodrone through the windshield of an Acura and Jason was doing his best to deflect a flurry of wild punches when suddenly another Invisiportal opened up again and sucked the remaining drones inside it.

They all shook their heads together as they powered down and prepared to go back home. Just as they reached the car, Tommy stopped them from entering it.

"What if those people down there recognize us when we leave?" Tommy asked "I'm almost positive they could see us when we morphed."

"Tommy, even if they did see us, we're fifteen stories off the ground. There's no way they could make out our faces from down there," Jason replied.

Tommy was apprehensive but he conceded that Jason was more than likely correct and climbed into the back seat of the Escalade. They left the airport not knowing that the trouble they had just faced was nothing compared to what Kim had in store for her in Florida.

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Two days later at around eight in the evening Tommy was sitting in the living room with everyone, minus Kim, when the phone rang. He put his finger to his lips and told everyone to be quiet as he picked it up, hoping it was Kim and felt his heart sink when he heard the voice on the other end of the line.

"A-are you sure, ma'am?" Tommy asked with a quivering voice "A-alright, th-thank you. I'll be on the first flight I can catch out of here."

He hung up the phone slowly as he turned to look at Jason and lost it. He buried his head into Jason's shoulder as Jason tried to comfort him, not knowing what was going on. Everyone from Ethan to Rocky stared at Tommy as he cried in his friends' arms.

"Tommy, what is it, man?" Jason asked.

"K-Kim g-got h-hit by a d-d-drunk driver," he managed "S-she's in int-t-tensive c-care a-and m-might not m-make it."

Jason pulled his friend in closer as everyone in the room tried to at least get a hand on his shoulder, if not more, to let them know they were there for him even though most of them were fighting off tears themselves.

"Guys, I n-need a m-minute alone with m-my team," Tommy requested as his friends nodded and went outside as they left him alone with Connor, Ethan, Trent, Kira, Haley and Jason "I'm leaving in thirty minutes to go to the airp-p-port. C-Connor you're in charge while I'm gone. Everyone listen to what he tells you. That means you t-too J-Jason."

"Bullshit, I'm going with you and so is Kat," Jason replied "These guys are fully capable of handling things while we're gone aren't you guys?"

The four teens and Haley all nodded their heads even though none of them really were prepared to lose Tommy, Jason and Kim, three veteran Rangers, in a three day span.

"Are you sure, Jase?" Tommy asked.

"Absolutely," Jason answered as he clasped Tommy's shoulder "Share the burden, divide the grief, remember?"

Tommy smiled a little bit as he got up and went in his room to pack a duffel bag as he sent Jason outside to inform everyone of what was going on. The group came back inside as Jason and Kat went into the guest bedroom to pack a few things.

Tommy pulled clothes from his closet and quickly threw them into his duffel bag. He looked at the top of his closet and pulled something down from the top shelf. He tried to smile as he looked at the stuffed white tiger that Kimberly had won for him at the fair when they were kids. He set it gently on top of the whirlwind of clothes as he zipped his duffel bag up and left the room.

Jason and Kat were already waiting for him with their own bags when he came out and Jason grabbed Tommy's bag out of his hand for him. Tommy quickly thanked everyone and gave quick hugs goodbye as he stopped at Trini. She was Kim's best female friend and, besides Tommy, was hurting the most. Trini put her arms around Tommy and they held each other closely for a few minutes.

"Bring her back safe, Tommy," Trini begged.

"I'm going to Trini. You can count on it," Tommy replied as he slipped out the door that Jason was holding open. Jason and Kat said goodbye to everyone as they exited the house.

Tommy sat in the front passenger seat like a statue. He had had a consistent stream of tears running down his face and hadn't stopped to wipe them once.

_God I hope you're okay, Kim_ he thought to himself.

_I am, Tommy but I miss you so much. I need you Tommy._ The words invaded Tommy's brain as a confused expression appeared on his face.

_Tommy: Kim?_

_Kim: Yes, Handsome. It's me._

_T: But how? You're in Florida in a...in a hospital. How are we doing this?_

_K: I don't know Tommy. One minute I was walking back from the convenience store when I got hit and the next I'm talking to you telepathically._

Tommy didn't know if he was going crazy at the though of losing her or if he was really talking to Kim through thought. He closed his eyes and continued to press on with his thoughts because, even if what was happening wasn't real, it made him feel like he still had a connection to her.

_T: Kim just promise me you'll hold on Beautiful. Jason, Kat and I are pulling up to the airport right now. Billy's jet is in a hangar here still and he said we could use it so we can come see you. I miss you so much Kim._

_K: I miss you too Tommy and I love you more than anything on this planet. Tell Jason and Kat I said thank you for coming with you. I'll be here waiting for you guys but I'm starting to feel tired. I'm going to go now, k?_

_T: Ok, Kim. Get some rest please. I'll be there as soon as possible. I love you._

_K: I love you too, Tommy._

As soon as Tommy broke from his conversation with Kim his eyes snapped open and he looked completely disoriented. Jason looked at him with a concerned expression.

"You okay, bro?" Jason asked.

"I am now," Tommy answered "Kim's going to be fine. She's a little scared and tired and lonely but she wanted me to tell you guys thanks for coming with me."

Jason looked back at Kat not knowing whether Tommy was losing it or being serious. Jason gave her a look that said he wanted her to press further with Tommy. She gave in and put her hand on his shoulder as he turned back to look at her.

"Tommy, how did you talk to Kimberly if she's in a hosp…if she's not here?" Kat asked, thankful that she had been able to change her sentence before the word "hospital" came out.

"I don't know, Kat. I was just thinking about her and praying that she was okay and then all of a sudden I heard her voice telling me she was okay," Tommy replied "I don't know how either of us did it but we carried on a full conversation with each other through our thoughts."

Jason and Kat were still apprehensive about what he was saying but they decided not to push the issue any further. A few minutes later they pulled up to the airport and parked the car. When they walked up to the front entrance Tommy told a security guard who they were and that they were supposed to have a private flight leaving immediately.

The security guard asked for his I.D. which Tommy provided then said some stuff into his walkie-talkie that Tommy couldn't really make out.

"Ok, Mr. Oliver," the guard said "A golf cart is on its' way right now to pick you and your friends up and take you to the plane. Don't worry about checking your luggage since it's a private flight and all."

Tommy thanked the guard and slipped him a five dollar bill as they got in the golf cart and headed towards the hangar holding Billy's plane. The co-pilot pushed the door open as the stairs unfolded and the three friends climbed on.

The captain and his co-pilot came back to introduce themselves and to confirm their destination. After Tommy said that, yes, they were going to Miami International Airport, the two pilots returned to the cockpit as Tommy sat back and poured himself a large glass of scotch that he took from Billy's apparently bottomless liquor cabinet.

Jason poured Kat a glass of wine as he grabbed a beer for himself out of the fridge. They did their best to maintain positive outlooks but all three of them were worried about Kim.

Nearly eight hours later they landed at Miami International Airport. It was raining hard so they exited the plane as quickly as they could and saw that a cab was already waiting for them at the plane.

"Your friend, Billy I think his name was, called for me to meet you here," the driver explained "Everything's paid for and I'm supposed to drop you guys off at MSMC."

"MSMC?" Kat asked as they climbed into the cab.

"Mount Sinai Medical Center," he replied "Sorry, I'm used to the locals, ya know?"

Kat gave the man a polite smile as he turned around and began to drive. It took them a little over twenty minutes to get from the airport to the hospital. When they arrived, Tommy dug into his pocket, pulled out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to the driver as a tip, not bothering to ask for change.

He jumped out and ran through the rain as fast as he could, leaving his bag for Jason as he and Kat followed shortly behind him. He entered the building and ran to the front desk.

"May I help you, sir?" the lady at the desk asked.

"My girlfriend, Kimberly Hart is here. She got…she was in an accident," he replied not wanting to say what really happened.

"Let's see here, Hart, Hart," the lady repeated as she looked for Kim's name "Hart, there she is. She's in ICU which is on the third floor. When you get upstairs ask for Dr. Vallertes."

"Thank you very much," Tommy answered as he immediately took off on a dead sprint up the stairs.

Jason and Kat tried to keep up but Tommy was hell bent on getting up the stairs as quickly as possible. When they finally made it up the stairs, Tommy was approaching a man who was apparently Dr. Vallertes. Tommy stopped dead in his tracks as he looked at the man who seemed so familiar.

"Tommy?" the doctor asked.

"Carlos?" Tommy asked in return.

The two men shook hands and slightly embraced each other. Kat recognized him too and gave him a friendly hug as Tommy introduced him to Jason as the second Green Turbo Ranger. Jason set the duffel bags down and shook Carlos' hand.

"What brings you guys to Miami and to the hospital no less?" Carlos asked.

"My girlfriend, Kimberly Hart," Tommy replied "I got a call from someone telling me she was here."

Carlos' face instantly lost the smile it was carrying as he bowed his head a little bit. He looked at Tommy as if he was about to deliver the worst news possible.

"She's alive, but barely," Carlos explained as he led them down the hall "There was a police officer on patrol who saw the accident. If he hadn't been there, she probably wouldn't have made it. She's a very lucky woman."

"Can we see her?" Tommy asked softly.

"Under normal circumstances I'd say no," Carlos began "But I think I can make an exception for you guys. Just be prepared that she isn't in the best shape. She's in Room 311, the third door on the left around the corner whenever you want to go in. I took the liberty of adding some basic amenities when I saw who she was. She's a legend, you know. There's a small stereo that I had put in there for her. I've noticed that patients who are exposed to familiar sounds tend to wake up faster."

"What do you mean wake up?" Tommy asked confused.

"Tommy, didn't the receptionist tell you?" Carlos replied "I'm sorry bro but Kim is in a coma."

Tommy felt his heart sink again as he nodded and thanked Carlos. The doctor nodded back and said goodbye as he left to check on some other patients. Kat grabbed one of Tommy's hands and squeezed it a little bit to let him know she was there for him. She did the same thing to Jason as they walked down the hall to Kim's room.

Tommy stopped and took another deep breath when he got to the room. He slowly pushed the door open and almost threw up when he saw Kim. Her eyes were closed, she was covered from head-to-toe with cuts and bruises and her left arm was in a sling.

He grabbed a chair and pulled it right next to Kim's bed and sat by her side, gently taking her free hand in his own and stroking it softly. Jason and Kat each put a hand on Tommy's shoulder as they wiped tears from their own eyes.

No one knew what to say so Tommy unzipped his duffle bag and pulled the stuffed tiger from it. As he pulled it out, he felt something hard inside of it that he had never noticed before. He looked at the back of the animal and saw that there was a zipper. He unzipped the tiger and noticed that there was a CD inside. He pulled it out and saw that it was marked "TK Forever-Our Songs."

Carlos' words echoed in his head as he instinctively put the disc in the player and hit "play." He wiped tears from his eyes when he heard the first song. He remembered the first time they heard the song together was right after they destroyed Ivan Ooze and were watching the fireworks display that was thanking the Power Rangers for saving Earth again.

"I can't sing like you Kim," he muttered quietly "But I owe you one."

_World turns black and white  
Pictures in an empty room  
Your love starts fallin' down  
Better change your tune _

_Reach for the golden ring  
Reach for the sky  
Baby just spread your wings _

_We'll get higher and higher straight up we'll climb  
We'll get higher and higher leave it all behind _

_Run, run, run, away  
Like a train runnin' off the track  
The truth gets left behind  
And falls between the cracks _

_Standing on broken dreams  
But never losing sight  
Spread your wings _

_So baby dry your eyes, save all the tears you've cried  
Oh that's what dreams are made of  
Oh baby we belong in a world that must be strong  
Oh that's what dreams are made of  
Higher and higher who knows what we'll find  
And in the end on dreams we will depend  
Cause that's what love is made of_

His friends smiled at him as he finished singing to Kim. He was right when he said he couldn't sing but no one in the room cared, especially not Kim.

_Thank you Tommy, that was beautiful._

_Kim, are you there? Is that you?_

_K: I'm here Tommy. I can't see you but I can feel you and hear you. You have to be strong for me okay?_

_T: I will be, I promise. I brought the tiger you won for me when we were kids. How come you never told me about the the CD inside?_

_K: I only put it in there the other day. I figured you'd find it some day when the time was right and that you would listen to it and think of me. I didn't expect you to find it like this but I'm glad you did, That's me singing to you isn't it?_

_T: Yeah, it is. That's you, Zack, Kat and Kira from your performance at the café._ A smile crossed his lips as he spoke with Kim. _You were amazing that night. You've always been amazing._

_K: Tommy, I promise you that I'm going to recover from this and when I do, we're gonna start a new life together, okay?_ Tommy nodded his head silently, forgetting that Kim couldn't see him. _Tommy, did you hear me?_

_T: Yes, Beautiful, I did. It will be everything we've ever dreamed of having together. I promise. Jason and Kat are here and they love you and so do I. Now get some rest, okay?_

_K: Ok, goodnight Tommy._

_T: Goodnight my love._

Tommy wiped more tears from his eyes as he moved to the small couch that occupied part of the far wall. Jason and Kat each took a seat in a small chair and watched Tommy until they fell asleep. Tommy curled himself into a ball and laid there crying until no more tears would come and he slowly drifted off.

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Jason and Kat had checked into a hotel the next morning but Tommy refused to leave Kim's room except when they would drag him out to go eat or get some fresh air.

It had been three days and Kim hadn't shown any signs of improvement aside from her cuts and bruises beginning to heal. They spoke telepathically from time-to-time but every conversation Tommy had with her got harder.

On the second night he realized that the room had two beds, one of which was unoccupied so he asked Carlos if he could move it next to Kim's who said it wouldn't be a problem. During Kim's fourth night in the hospital, Tommy woke up at around three to use the restroom. As he was washing his hands he noticed a pink light creeping in from underneath the door. He immediately ran out of the bathroom and was floored by what he saw.

Kim was literally glowing pink. Not only that but she was levitating at least five or six feet off the bed, still laying flat.

"Tommy, are you there?" she cried out in fear, afraid to move, as he ran to her side.

"I'm here, Beautiful, but what's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know. A minute ago all I could see was darkness. I was trying to fight through the blackness and then I woke up here, looking at the ceiling," she answered "I can't get down Tommy. I'm scared."

"Just concentrate on the bed underneath you," he replied "Force yourself to come back down."

Kim concentrated hard on lowering herself and slowly she started to descend into the arms of the man she loved. She did her best to smile at him, but her injuries made it extremely painful. He lowered her gently into her bed then walked around and climbed back into his own.

"I love you, Kim and I want you to know that from now on, I'll always be there to protect you," he muttered through tears as she turned onto her side to look at him and moaned in pain which caused Tommy to grimace.

"I know you will and I love you too, Tommy," she replied fighting back her own tears.

Tommy leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Kim rolled back over onto her back and let her hand make its way into Tommy's. They stayed that way until sleep took over and caused them both to drift off into a world where things like this didn't happen.

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	14. Problem Solving 101

After spending a few more days under the care of Carlos and his staff, Kim was discharged from the hospital under the pretense that she was not to engage in any extreme physical activity.

"Guess that means I'm off the team now," she muttered as Tommy tried his best to comfort her.

"Hey, it's not like it's permanent," Tommy replied as he squeezed her hand and his face grew solemn "Besides it could have been a lot worse.

Kim nodded, knowing that she was lucky to be walking. Hell, she was lucky to be alive. A camera attached to a street light caught the whole accident on video and the police had finally arrested the man who had hit her.

Tommy and Jason both wanted to know who he was but Kim had insisted that she would just as soon put the incident behind them. However, Tommy had other ideas. Jason and Kat had chosen to fly back while Tommy and Kim stayed behind and sold off everything they couldn't carry on a flight. A moving company was coming by in a few days to pick up the stuff she couldn't carry like all her picture albums, gymnastics stuff and other keepsakes she had collected over the years.

It was eleven at night and Kim happened to be hungry so her and Tommy decided to order Chinese food from a local restaurant that was open 24/7. When Tommy had gone out to pick up their dinner he placed a phone call to an old friend, someone who could give Tommy the answers he so desperately wanted.

Theodore Jay Jarvis Johnson better known as TJ, was the man who replaced Tommy as the Red Turbo Ranger. He was also a police officer in Miami Gardens, the suburban town outside of Miami where Kim lived. Tommy dialed the number of his replacement that he had gotten from Carlos and waited for him to answer.

"Detective Johnson, how can I help you?" TJ answered.

"TJ, it's Tommy. How are you?" he asked.

"Hey, Tommy! Long time, no talk. I'm good bro. How are you?" TJ replied.

"I've been better. My girlfriend, Kimberly Hart, was the girl who got hit by that drunk driver a week ago," Tommy began "I heard you caught the guy. I was wondering if you could tell me who he is?"

"Tommy, I would really like to help you but…" TJ answered but Tommy cut him off.

"Please, TJ," Tommy pleaded "I need to know."

Tommy could hear TJ exhale deeply on the other end of the line. He could also hear the sound of typing and silently hoped that TJ was looking up the information.

"His name is Mark Ross," TJ said tentatively "We picked him up two days ago but he posted bail this morning. I can't give you any more information other than that. Sorry, Tommy."

"I understand. Thanks for your help, TJ," Tommy replied as he ended the conversation.

Tommy immediately called 411 and waited for the operator to pick up. An automated voice answered and told Tommy to press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish. He rolled his eyes and pressed 1 as a female voice answered a few seconds later.

"Miami Communications, my name is Julie, what listing please?" the lady requested.

"Yeah I need the address for a Mark Ross in Miami Gardens please," Tommy answered as the lady asked him to hold for a moment. She came back a few seconds later with the information Tommy had requested.

Tommy thanked the lady and hung up. He dug through the glove compartment in Kim's Toyota Camry until he found a small map. When he found what he was looking for, he hit the gas as hard as he could, heading for the house of the man who nearly killed Kim.

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Back in Reefside, the four teens were in desperate need of some veteran leadership. Adam, Rocky and Zack had offered to take over for the three traveling Rangers but Billy had told them sternly that continuing to morph would be dangerous because they had been separated from their powers for so long. The Dino Thunder Rangers were on their own, at least they thought they were.

Inside Tommy's house the Rangers and the rest of Tommy's old teammates heard a car pull slowly up the driveway. Everyone got up and immediately they all ran outside to see Jason and Kat climb out of a cab. No one had called to tell them anything other than that Kim was okay and everyone was anxious for news. They practically dragged Jason and Kat in the house and made the pair sit down and tell them everything.

After a half hour of Jason and Kat assuring and reassuring them that Kim was going to be fine and that they should be home in a couple of days, everyone appeared to be satisfied. The teens eventually dispersed and went about their way, each going to do something different and leaving the old team to themselves.

Kira was going home to work on a new song she was writing, Ethan was heading to the Cyberspace Café to play his newest game, Trent had to also go to the café but it was to work and Connor was going to the park to find a pickup soccer game. With two Rangers in Florida and the other five all going in different directions, it was the perfect time for Mesogog to put his newest plan into action.

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Mesogog let out an evil laugh that echoed down every hallway and corridor in his island fortress. Elsa walked in carrying an object that was covered by a dark cloak. When he saw what Elsa was carrying, Mesogog hissed loudly and rubbed his hands together greedily.

"Is that…?" Mesogog asked.

"The Mirror of Regret?" Elsa answered "Yes, master, it is."

"How can this be?" Mesogog replied "I thought Zordon's Black Ranger destroyed it years ago."

"Lord Zedd was foolish. He did not understand the power of the Mirror of Regret. The Black Ranger did not permanently destroy it," Elsa began "He only broke the mirror in his own eyes. Anyone who hasn't been exposed to the mirror will still experience the same results that plagued the Black Ranger."

"That is good news. You may not be a complete fool after all, Elsa," Mesogog hissed "Where that idiot Zedd has failed, I will be victorious. Take the mirror and use it on the Red Ranger. With their leader doubting himself the other Rangers will be sure to crumble beneath my fist."

Elsa bowed out of Mesogog's throne room and began to round up some Tyrannodrones. She opened an Invisiportal and disappeared inside of it with the Mirror of Regret in hand and a group of drones behind her. The portal snapped shut and Mesogog let out another sinister laugh that could be heard for miles.

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Right when Tommy pulled up to the house he was looking for, his cell phone rang. Kim was calling and he had to think of something quick. His years as a teenaged Ranger and having to come up with quick excuses for his never ending disappearing act paid dividends now. He explained to Kim that everything was under control, that the people at the Chinese restaurant had simply messed up their order and that he would be home as soon as possible.

He hated having to lie to Kim but desperate times called for desperate measures. He took a deep breath as he opened the door of Kim's car and started to climb out when another car came speeding wildly around the corner. Tommy quickly jumped back in the car as it swerved violently right into the driveway of the house Tommy was looking for.

Tommy watched as a man slowly climbed out of the car and staggered up the driveway to the front door. He got out of the Camry and quietly followed the man, being careful not to draw attention to himself. The man fumbled with his keys for a few seconds until he found the right one and clumsily opened the front door.

Right as he stepped in through the door, Tommy made his move and, using his Dino Powers, went invisible, quietly slipping in behind the man. Tommy pulled a black ski mask out of his pocket and pulled it over his face for when he decided to reveal himself. It was completely dark in the house and Tommy could hear the obviously intoxicated man searching for the light switch. Unintentionally, Tommy brushed up against it and the lights came on.

The man looked confused and frightened that the lights had suddenly turned on by themselves. As Tommy got his first good look at the man who still couldn't see him, Tommy instantly realized that he had seen the man before but he couldn't remember where.

He thought back to where he had seen him before and suddenly it clicked. Tommy had been helping Kim pack up some of her old gymnastics trophies and pictures that occupied the guest bedroom when he saw the man for the first time. It was in a team photo of everyone competing for Team USA at the Pan Global Games and this Mark Ross guy had been a swimmer.

It took Tommy a few seconds before he finally put the pieces in order. This man that nearly killed Kimberly was the same man that had attacked her years ago in her dorm room.

Eventually the man gave up in trying to figure out how the lights came on by themselves and walked into the kitchen. He ducked down into the fridge to grab a beer and Tommy quietly crept behind him. He made himself visible again and quietly summoned his Brachio Staff. He put it in his left hand and laid it on the shoulder of the man who instantly spun around with a shocked look on his face.

"Night, sunshine," Tommy muttered as he punched the man square in the face. Tommy watched the man he had just knocked out fall to the floor, shattering his beer bottle on the linoleum.

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Connor was running up the pitch, dribbling a soccer ball between his feet and planning his next move. With his super speed he was able to perceive the field in a completely new way. Moving like lightning he avoided three defenders at once and made a move on the goalie that nearly caused the keeper to fall out of his shoes. Connor quickly stopped right in front of him and gently tapped the ball with his foot as it rolled past the outstretched hand of the goalie.

When he turned around to celebrate with his teammates he saw that they were all running in different directions as Elsa walked towards him with a group of Tyrannodrones following behind her. Connor thought about morphing but decided it was too risky with all the people in the park so he went after Elsa without powers.

She laughed loudly as he ran towards her. When he got within a few yards, Elsa pulled back the cloak as Connor stared directly at himself in the mirror.

"Remember your past, Red Ranger," Elsa encouraged "Remember your failures."

Connor tried to fight back but the mirror had control over him. He saw his first day of high school and getting cut from the freshman soccer team. He saw a much smaller version of himself being bullied at a park somewhere by an older boy twice his size, but it was the last thing he saw that pained him the most.

It was the night that Kira, Kat, Kim and Zack performed for them. He was going to ask Kira out that night but when she came down from the stage she instantly ran to Trent. Connor suddenly grabbed his chest and fell to his knees.

Elsa let out a hideous laugh as an Invisiportal opened above her. She tauntingly waved goodbye to Connor as she disappeared into the portal. Almost instantly after she left, Connor became depressed. The field slowly began to reoccupy with the players who had earlier dispersed at the sight of Elsa and the Tyrannodrones but Connor wanted no part of it. He turned around and slowly walked away with his head down as he picked up his red duffel bag and headed towards his car.

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Kim was still worried about where Tommy was so she called again. Tommy explained that TJ had heard from Carlos that he was in town and had called him to see if they could maybe catch up. He said that he told TJ he had to get back home but that he insisted on buying Tommy a cup of coffee. He told Kim that he was meeting him at a little coffee shop right now and said that he'd be home as soon as possible and promised Kim that there was nothing to worry about.

He picked up a glass of cold water off the counter and walked towards the man who was now tied tightly to the base of the coffee table in the living room. Slowly, Tommy emptied the contents of the glass on to the man's face until he jerked awake.

Tommy was not a stupid man either. He found a box of disposable latex gloves under the kitchen sink and slipped them on before touching anything just in case he didn't succeed in scaring the guy enough to avoid the police. Tommy didn't plan on hurting him anymore than he already had but in case the man called the police, Tommy didn't want to leave any evidence that he had been here.

"You hit a woman last week and nearly killed her. That woman also happens to be the same girl you raped when you were seventeen!" Tommy yelled as he turned to look at the man "And I happen to be a very pissed off friend of hers. Do you know the damage you've done not only to her but to the people around her?!"

The man whimpered at the sight of the masked Tommy who had picked up a fire poker and was spinning it back and forth in his hand. He got closer with the object until it was just a few inches from the man's face.

"We were just kids," he muttered "It was a stupid mistake. I never meant to hurt her. I loved Kim!"

Tommy stared bullets at the man as a grin slowly formed on his face. The man's face instantly grew more fearful as Tommy quickly lost the smile for an expression of anger.

"Love? You loved her? You don't know what love is!" Tommy yelled "Love is waiting for someone who lives 3,000 miles away because, even though she doesn't realize it, you know in your heart that you're meant to be together. Love is sacrificing everything you have at the drop of a hat for someone not using them and taking advantage of them."

The man cowered as Tommy pointed the sharp metal object at the man's face and acted like he was going to strike. Tommy laughed when he saw that the man had started to cry.

"I…I'm sorry," the man whimpered "I swear I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"Oh, I accept your apology," Tommy replied "But I'm not the one you need to apologize to. That's between you and whoever you pray to when you take your sorry ass to bed every night."

"Please, please. Don't hurt me," the man begged "I'll do anything."

Tommy looked at the groveling man and almost felt pity for him. He was making a fool out of himself and quickly losing control.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Tommy answered "At least not as much as I'd like to."

Tommy cocked the makeshift weapon back and brought it right at the man's shin. He screamed out in preparation for the oncoming blow but nothing happened. Tommy had enough self-control and honor to stop the weapon just short of breaking the man's leg.

"You're not even worth it you piece of shit," Tommy muttered as he dropped the fire poker on the floor "I don't care what you do from here but I promise you this. If I ever see your face again I swear to God I'll come after you and I won't be so nice next time you son of a bitch."

Tommy opened the front door and exited the house making sure to slam the door loudly behind him in the hopes that it would scare the man a little more. He got into the Camry and quietly drove off, remembering to pick up what he was sure was now cold their Chinese food on the way back.

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Connor sat on the couch in Tommy's living room with his head down as Tommy's old teammates went in and out of the room in clusters. No one really paid close attention to Connor as they came and went so nobody really noticed that anything was wrong.

He heard his communicator beep and slowly went to answer it. It was Ethan and he, along with Trent and Kira were in need of his help in downtown Reefside. Connor muttered an "okay" as he slowly went into the garage section of the basement and found his Raptor Cycle.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up," Connor muttered nonchalantly as the familiar armor encased his body. He climbed onto the cycle and drove off into the woods.

As Connor arrived he saw that his teammates were in more trouble than he knew. Apparently, Mesogog had resurrected Pollinator because the monster, along with Tyrannodrones, was attacking the city.

Connor tried to fight but he couldn't manage anything more than a few weak hearted punches and kicks. Pollinator made quick work of the Rangers who were forced to retreat.

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"What the hell happened to you out there?" Ethan yelled as he slammed his helmet into the wall.

Connor hung his head and muttered an apology as Kira paced back and forth while Trent sat in the corner, avoiding potential confrontation. Kira thought out loud as Ethan and Trent exchanged looks of surprise at the flurry of curse words coming out of her mouth.

"What's gotten into you, Connor?" she asked "You're supposed to lead the team and you stood there and did practically nothing while we got our asses handed to us by a giant flower-squid thing!"

Connor didn't have a reply and Ethan opened is mouth to yell something else but he was cut-off by someone at the top of the stairs.

"Stop yelling at him," Adam commanded as he walked down the stairs towards them "Yelling isn't gonna change the result of the fight and it's sure not going to help Connor. Besides, I think I know what happened.

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Tommy sat quietly on the couch as he ate re-heated Chinese food right out of the box. Kim, who was sitting at his feet with her back against the couch, had sensed something was wrong when he walked in the apartment but he put on his best happy face and assured her that everything was okay.

They sat in complete silence for nearly twenty minutes until Kim heard Tommy whimpering. She instantly turned around and saw that he had his face buried in his hands and was crying. Immediately she got up and sat next to him on the couch, taking his hands in her own.

"Tommy, what's wrong?" Kim asked, pleading with him to talk to her.

"I broke your trust," he muttered "And I lied to you about what I was doing tonight."

"What do you mean, Tommy?" she replied "What did you do? I'm sure we can get through whatever it is together."

"I didn't meet TJ for coffee. I went and found the guy who hit you," Tommy murmured in reply "He's the same guy that raped you Kim. I couldn't deal with the fact that he hurt you again and nearly killed you."

"Tommy how do you know it was the same guy?" she asked.

"TJ's a cop here and I called him up. He gave me the guy's name pretty reluctantly," he replied "I got his address from Information and then I snuck into his house using my invisibility power. I knew I recognized him the second I saw him and then I remembered that I had seen him in that picture of Team USA at the Pan Global Games."

Kim wanted to be angry with Tommy so much at that moment but she couldn't bring herself to it. He had defended her and, even though she had asked him not to get involved, she couldn't be mad at him for that. She put her finger under Tommy's chin and forced him to look at her.

"You always were my white knight in shining armor," she said as a smile crossed her lips "So how bad did you hurt him? I hope you at least got in one good shot."

"I did. I made sure of that but I didn't hurt him too bad. I wanted to but he was a mess and I realized he wasn't worth it," Tommy answered "I just scared him really good with a fire poker and left him tied to his coffee table."

"You should have shoved that fire poker up his ass for me so he would know what it feels like to be violated," Kim said with a laugh that caused Tommy to wince at the thought of that man forcing himself onto her "Oh come on, Tommy, I was just making a joke. I could be furious if that would make you feel better."

Tommy smiled at her as he shook his head "no" way over dramatically. Kim laughed as Tommy got off the couch and helped her to her feet. They had a couple more things to do in the morning before their flight left that evening so they agreed to turn in for the night.

Kim went into her bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for bed while Tommy did the same thing in the guest bathroom. When he walked back into the bedroom he nearly lost it right there. He couldn't help but laugh as Kimberly came out of her bathroom wearing a pair of black pajama pants with white falcons all over them and an old t-shirt that said "The White Ranger Is My Homeboy" which had a picture of Tommy's old helmet in the center of it.

She smiled at him as he walked towards her and pulled her into his arms. He looked into her soft brown eyes and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Time for bed, Handsome," Kim said with a giggle as she took Tommy by the hand and walked to the bed.

"I'll follow you anywhere you wanna go, Beautiful," Tommy replied as he climbed underneath the covers.

He turned onto his side and maneuvered his body closer to Kim's as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in to him. Sleep came soon for the couple and Tommy managed to sneak in a kiss on the back of Kim's neck before he drifted off.

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"So what you're saying is that some magical mirror has caused Connor to lose his confidence?" Ethan asked Adam apprehensively as the former Black Ranger nodded his head.

"Goldar, one of Lord Zedd's generals, used the Mirror of Regret on me when I was your age," Adam answered "It caused me to see a bunch of painful memories and to lose all my self-confidence. I thought I destroyed it but apparently I was wrong."

"Connor, what did you see in the mirror that could have caused this?" Kira asked "You're a star athlete, immensely popular at school and every girl you come in contact with drools over you."

"Not every girl," Connor replied as he looked up at Kira "At least not the one I want to."

Kira stared back at him, trying to find words but she couldn't come up with any. She ran upstairs and slammed the door behind her instead.

"You have feelings for Kira, don't you?" Trent asked softly. Connor nodded slowly as he looked at his friend and teammate.

"Yes, I do. But you were there first," Connor answered "I won't get in the way."

"Don't worry, Connor, she's all yours," Trent muttered "We went out a couple times but the chemistry that we had hoped for wasn't there. To be honest, I think she's had her eye on you the whole time."

"No way," Connor replied "She wouldn't want anything to do with a colossal failure like me. All I saw in that mirror was negative things and it made me realize how pathetic I am."

"Connor, pathetic is the last thing you are," Adam interjected as he rested a hand on the young man's shoulder "Kira said a lot of really nice things about you but she didn't mention the most important thing about you. Tommy told me he gave you all a choice when you discovered the Dino Gems. You made a choice of selflessness in becoming a Ranger. That speaks volumes about your character and about who you really are."

"I guess I'm not as bad as I thought I was," Connor muttered "I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier guys. I promise from now on I'll go back to being a completely sarcastic jackass."

A smile crossed Connor's face as Ethan and Trent both laughed at his joke. He turned and looked at Adam who nodded his head in the direction of the door.

"I think you got some 'splainin to do, Lucy," Adam remarked in his best Ricky Ricardo impersonation.

Connor nodded and laughed as he ran up the stairs, hoping Kira hadn't left. When he opened the door, she was sitting alone on the couch, crying. He didn't know what to do, so he froze.

"Talk to her dummy!" Ethan yelled from the base of the steps which brought Connor back to life.

He shut the door behind him and sat next to Kira on the couch. Tentatively, he put his arm around her and pulled her into his side. She buried her head against his shoulder and continued to cry.

"Kira, I'm so sorry," Connor whispered "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't," Kira muttered "I just never thought you'd have those feelings for me. I've been trying to get your attention for months."

"Really?" Connor answered in shock "I guess I never noticed. You know how thick I can be sometimes. But what about Trent? I thought you really liked him?"

"So did I but I think the only reason I paid so much attention to Trent was because I thought it would make you pay more attention to me," she replied.

"Well, I have to admit, it worked," Connor said softly "What do you say we start over? How about I take you to a movie and then dinner Friday night and we can talk about things? I'll even let you pick out the movie."

Kira lifted her head up from Connor's shoulder as she wiped her tears away with her sleeve and nodded her head.

"I'd like that very much," Kira replied as she hugged Connor tightly.

They were carbon copies of Tommy and Kimberly in high school, Tommy oblivious to Kim's feelings for him and Kim trying desperately to get Tommy's attention.

"Ya know, we're still gonna have to take down Pollinator," Connor said quietly.

"I know," Kira replied as she held Connor's hand "But he was dumb and left the city alone when the team was at its' weakest. Now, when we fight him again, he won't know what hit him."

Connor smiled at her as he again put his arm around her and pulled her in close. From outside, Adam caught Connor's attention through the window and shot him a wink. Connor nodded slightly, smiled at Adam and mouthed the words "thank you" as the former Black Ranger nodded and slowly turned around, climbed into the Escalade and drove off through the woods.


	15. More Surprises

With Jason back to the team and Connor having regained his confidence, Pollinator was no match for the five Dino Thunder Rangers. After a shot from the Z-Rex Blaster and short battle with the Thundersaurus Megazord, Mesogog's monster was quickly reduced to dust.

They quickly congratulated each other before hopping onto their Raptor Cycles and heading back to Tommy's house. As they arrived at the basement command center and powered down, Jason checked his watch and realized he had to leave.

He said goodbye to the other Rangers and Haley as he took off running up the stairs. Kat was sitting on the couch waiting for him when he entered the room. He walked over to her and helped her to her feet, kissing her passionately on the lips.

"Eww," Rocky groaned from his spot in the kitchen "How 'bout we keep the PDA to a minimum, por favor."

Jason broke the kiss and shot Rocky a glare that made the former Red and Blue Ranger shut his mouth.

"You say _WE_ as if you have someone to do this with," Jason replied as he kissed Kat again "But last time I checked, you snuggle up in bed all by yourself at night."

Jason laughed and Kat tried not to as she smacked him on the arm. He rubbed his arm and mockingly backed away from his Australian counterpart.

"She probably hits harder than you do, Jase" Adam muttered as he walked into the living room.

"Damn right, I do," Kat replied, causing everyone to laugh.

Slowly, the others began to make their way in to the living room from different parts of the house. When the eight original Rangers were all there, Jason yelled for the teens and Haley to come upstairs.

"Now, you guys know what to do, right?" Jason asked in his best leader voice.

"For the millionth time, we have it under control, Jason," Haley answered "Just go get Tommy and Kim, okay?"

Jason nodded his head as everyone said goodbye and headed out the door. Jason, Kat and Billy got into Jason's Suburban while Rocky, Zack, Trini, Adam and Aisha climbed into the Escalade.

"Connor, you and Kira need to go pick up that stuff," Haley said "Trent, you and Ethan stay here and get everything ready. I'm going to the grocery store since none of you can buy what they're gonna want to drink."

Everyone nodded and said okay as they went about their business. Connor let his hand find Kira's and led her out the front door and Haley followed. Trent stared at the young couple as they held hands and jokingly skipped down the driveway. He bowed his head as Ethan came up behind him and laid his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You still have feelings for her, huh?" Ethan asked quietly as Trent slowly nodded his head.

"Yeah, I do. But she doesn't feel the same way, I guess," Trent answered softly.

"I'm sorry dude," Ethan replied "All I can tell you is that if it's meant to be, it will happen. Dr. O and Kim are a perfect example of that."

"I know. I just don't think she realizes how much I care about her," Trent muttered.

"I think she does," Ethan replied which basically snapped Trent out of his mini-funk "Now let's get working on that stuff."

Trent nodded as he followed Ethan into the garage to get the things they needed. They came back up the stairs a few minutes later and began their part of the job.

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Connor and Kira pulled up to the building they were looking for and pulled around the side of it, not wanting to be seen. Connor climbed out of his car as he quickly ran around and opened Kira's door for her. He extended his hand to help her out and she gave him a bright smile as she laid her hand in his.

"This isn't the Connor I know," she said as she playfully leaned into him "When did you develop these oh-so-eloquent manners?"

"I don't know," Connor answered "I just realized one day that there's a lot of things I would do for the person I care so much about."

Kira couldn't help but blush at the sweetness of Connor's comment. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close, softly kissing her on the top of her head as they headed into the building. He dug into his pocket and found the key that Jason had given him as he let themselves into the building and disabled the alarm.

Connor quickly ran back outside and picked up a few boxes while Kira followed behind him and did the same. They walked in and set the boxes down as Connor looked at Kira and smiled.

"Let's get to work," he said as they carefully started to unpack the boxes.

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When Tommy stepped off the plane at LAX, it was like a breath of fresh air. He would have liked to fly directly to the smaller Reefside Airport but apparent monster sightings at shut the airport down.

But he was only a few hours from home, with the woman he loved, they were starting a new life together and that was all he cared about. He let his hand slip into her own as they slowly began the walk to their future.

After picking up their luggage, they stepped onto the escalator together, looked at each other and smiled as they saw their eight friends at the bottom waiting for them. All the women were holding bouquets of flowers, Jason and Zack were holding a larger than life card and the three men who had been Ninja Rangers with Kim were each holding a stuffed animal that represented their color and Ninjetti Spirit.

With only a few more steps on the escalator, Kim decided to run down the rest of the way as all her friends set their things down and welcomed her home with a big group hug. Tommy couldn't help but smile at the reception she was receiving.

After greeting everyone, reading the card that was signed by everyone including the teens and Haley and thanking them for their gifts, the ten friends made their way out to the parking garage. They all got into their respective vehicles and began the two hour drive back to Reefside.

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Haley arrived back at the house about 45 minutes after she left to see that Trent and Ethan were nearly done with their tasks. They were putting the finishing touches on a few things and Haley could see that Trent had put his artistic talents to good use because if it didn't have a hard drive, Ethan was mostly clueless.

"Good job, guys. That looks great," Haley said as she set the grocery bags on the counter "Why don't you guys finish that up and then go help Connor and Kira. I'm sure they could use a hand but be sure to get back here before Tommy and the others show up."

Ethan and Trent both said okay as they quickly went back to work and Haley unloaded the bags. She set some things off to the side and ran outside to fire up Tommy's small gas grill, silently praying that he had propane. She giggled in delight as the grill slowly came to life and began to warm up. The team technician and, apparently, resident grill master, ran back into the house to start preparing to cook.

The two teenagers yelled to Haley that they were done and heading over to help Connor and Kira. Haley yelled an okay back to them as they slipped out the door and walked towards Trent's new white Durango, courtesy of his adoptive father, Anton Mercer. They climbed into the vehicle as Trent backed it down the driveway and drove off into the woods.

A few minutes later Trent found Connor's car and parked behind it. They got out of the Durango and made their way towards the building. A lot of the work had already been done in the building, mostly by an outside company that Billy had hired. The teens were basically responsible for putting the finishing touches on a few things before everyone arrived.

Connor and Kira heard Ethan and Trent walk in and came down the stairs to greet them. There were no more boxes laying anywhere and it appeared as if Connor and Kira had handled everything but that was not the case.

"Is that everything?" Ethan asked as Connor and Kira both shook their heads.

"It's not the half of it. We need you guys to go get the rest," Kira answered and laughed at the shocked expressions on the faces of Ethan and Trent.

Connor brought his wrist communicator to his lips and pushed a button to contact Haley. The woman had just gone back outside to the grill when she heard her own communicator go off. Billy had made the devices for Jason and Kim and decided that it would be a good idea for Haley to have one too.

"Hey Haley, can we get that Invisiportal please?" Connor asked.

"Yeah, just give me one second to get downstairs," Haley answered.

Ethan and Trent both looked at each other and nodded as they realized what Kira had meant. They stepped into the newly opened portal and came back five minutes later as it snapped shut, each carrying three big boxes.

"Damn, she has a lot of stuff," Connor muttered as the four teens began to unpack the boxes.

It took them close to an hour to get everything unpacked and put in the proper places. When they finished, the teens stepped back and admired their handy work. They had done a good job and they hoped their friends would be happy.

Together, they walked outside and Connor made sure to lock the door and set the alarm behind them. They looked up and smiled at the cloth that was hanging above the door as they made their way to their vehicles and began the drive back to Tommy's house. Trent and Connor both made sure to park out of sight when they arrived back at the house.

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As part of the plan, Billy rode in the Escalade, leaving Tommy, Jason, Kim and Kat in the Suburban. Jason had insisted on stopping to get coffee and Kat had said she needed to use the bathroom which caused another stop, also part of the plan, the only part of the plan that Tommy knew about, to allow the other vehicle to get back to Tommy's way before them.

As it turned out, the second stop was probably unnecessary because the lead vehicle arrived nearly forty minutes ahead of them. The SUV slowly made its way up the driveway before finally coming to a stop. The four friends climbed out of the vehicle and walked to the front door.

Tommy pushed on the handle but the door was locked. He fumbled for his keys until he found them and opened the door that lead into a pitch black house. He found the light switch on the side of the door as he let Kim go in front of him.

"SURPRISE!" everyone yelled as they jumped from behind their hiding spots.

Kim stood speechless as she looked at all the people and decorations. Pink balloons, ribbons and streamers were hanging from every possible place and there was a huge sign that read "WELCOME HOME KIM" in big pink letters hanging in the hallway.

She covered her mouth with her hands as Tommy put his arm around her and pulled her in close. As Tommy admired the décor he smiled at the younger Rangers who had done better than he could have imagined. Kim gave everyone hugs as she thanked them all for the surprise.

"Hey, I smell food," Rocky interjected, ruining the moment but causing everyone to laugh.

"Let's go out back," Haley said as everyone followed her into the backyard.

Sitting on one of the tables were three big dished of food. Hamburgers and buns occupied one of the plates, gigantic ears of corn took up another and the biggest bowl of homemade macaroni salad any of them had ever seen was the third.

There was an ice chest with beer and Mike's for the adults and another with sodas and Gatorades for the under-21 crowd. For the next hour and a half everyone sat around socializing, eating and drinking until no one could eat anymore. Well, no one except Rocky who was on his fifth hamburger, third ear of corn and fourth serving of macaroni salad and he wasn't looking like he was ready to stop anytime soon.

It took almost another half an hour for Rocky to look at his half-eaten sixth burger and concede defeat, which he did regretfully. Connor stood up and extended his hand for Kira who took it as they walked into the house together hand-in-hand.

"They really are just like us," Kim whispered to Tommy as she snuggled into his side.

A few minutes later they came out carrying a massive cake covered in white frosting with pink writing that said _"Welcome Home Kim." _Rocky took one look at the cake and let out an unpleasant groan as everyone around him laughed.

Kira started to cut the cake and put it on plates while Connor served it to everyone. When everyone had cake but Rocky, she looked at the former Red Ranger and asked if he wanted any.

"No, I think I'm good," he said.

"Are you sure, Rocky?" Kira asked.

"Well, maybe just a little," Rocky said with a smile as Kira started to cut a small slice "Aww, come on Kira. I know you can do better than that."

The young Yellow Ranger smiled at the man as she cut the biggest piece the small paper plate could handle and handed it to Rocky who, at the sight of cake, had gotten his fifth wind.

Finally, when there was no more food left, the young Rangers began to pick up the paper plates and plastic utensils and throw them away. Tommy stretched his arms out and let go a huge yawn as Jason looked at him.

"You can't fall asleep on me yet bro," Jason said as he looked at the Dino Thunder Rangers "I think we still have a few tricks left up our sleeve for tonight, don't we guys?"

The four teens nodded and smiled as Tommy looked on in surprise. He thought the only plan they had was the party for Kim. Once everything was cleaned up, Jason led the charge through the house and out to the cars. The current Green Ranger dug into his pocked and pulled out two blindfolds and handed one to Kat.

"Is this necessary, guys?" Tommy asked as Jason stepped behind him and Kat went behind Kim.

"One hundred percent, bro," Jason replied as they tied the blindfolds around the eyes of their friends.

The group of fourteen divided up with seven going in the Suburban and seven going in the Escalade. Haley was staying behind in case anything happened and she had to alert the Rangers.

Tommy, in the Suburban, sat in complete silence as they made the drive through the woods and into downtown Reefside.

Eventually, the cars came to a stop and slowly started to empty. Jason had to help Tommy and Kim out as Haley quietly directed Ethan and Trent who ran to the building and grabbed on to the rope that hung from either side of the large cloth.

Once Jason and Kat had Tommy and Kim positioned they signaled to Ethan and Trent who pulled on the ropes causing the cloth to fall to the ground. Jason grabbed the knot on Tommy's blindfold as Kat did the same to Kim's.

"You guys ready?" Jason asked the couple.

Kim had an eager grin on her face and Tommy had an eager look too which said that he was eager to get this over with. They both nodded and said "yes" as Jason and Kat removed their blindfolds in one quick motion.

Staring back at the couple was something that caused them both to stagger back a little bit. Right in front of their eyes, on the building they had just signed for a week ago together, was a huge sign that read "White Falcon Dojo/Pink Crane Gymnastics."

Tommy and Kim were speechless as they looked at the building and wrapped their arms around each other. Kim had a small stream of tears running down her face as Tommy looked at everyone and smiled.

"You guys are the best," Tommy said softly as he continued to smile brightly.

"Hey, don't give out on us now guys. There's still the inside," Connor replied.

"You mean there's more?" Tommy muttered as he looked back at his teammate and student.

"Yep," Connor said as he dug out the keys and tossed them to Tommy "It's all yours, Dr. O and Mrs. O…I mean Kim."

Connor blushed a little at his mistake while everyone else around him laughed including Tommy and Kim who were walking to the front door. Tommy put the key in the door and waited for Kim as they each put a hand on the door handles. They pulled the double doors open and stared at the lower level of the building they hadn't even looked into fixing up yet.

The walls were painted pure white with a circular logo that Trent had drawn up in the center of each wall. The logo showed a falcon and crane flying gracefully together with the school's name circling them.

Before any of them could go any further, the beeping of the alarm about to go off awakened them. Connor quickly ran over and pushed the four-digit code seconds before the alarm would have gone off.

"1, 2, 3, 4, pound," Connor said to Tommy who looked at him confused "It's the alarm code, Dr. O."

The Dino Thunder Rangers continued to lead them through the building showing them everything they had done. There was a huge room with all the necessary equipment for gymnastics and another room with mats and weapons on the wall like nunchaku, sais and swords. Tommy and Kim stared in awe at everything their friends had done for them.

"How did you guys do all this?" Kim asked "This must have cost a fortune."

"Consider it a business investment," Billy replied "Jason told me you guys were gonna rent the building so I just bought the thing."

"The karate equipment is stuff Rocky and I had extra of in our dojo," Adam interjected.

"Guys, I think I speak for Kim when I saw that we can't thank you enough for this," Tommy replied "You guys really are the best."

Connor was just about to lead them upstairs and into the offices that they had made for Tommy and Kim when Tommy's communicator went off. He looked at the others and then brought his communicator to his lips.

"Go ahead Haley," Tommy answered.

"Tommy, we're getting some kind of transmission coming in on the viewing screen," Haley replied "I can't make it out and I think Billy might be able to help me."

"Alright, we're on our way," Tommy finished as he ended the conversation and began rounding everyone up.

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"Tommy, you're not gonna believe this," Billy said "Look where it's coming from."

Tommy stared at the viewing screen as the origin of the transmission came through. A shocked look appeared on his face as he shook his head.

"It can't be," Tommy muttered in reply.

"It is, Tommy. I think we need to get the others," Billy answered.

Tommy took off up the stairs and frantically started searching the house for the others. It took him a couple minutes but eventually he got everyone together and in the basement.

"Guys, you need to see this," Tommy told the group as they looked at the screen. A woman appeared and began to speak to them.

_Hello, Power Rangers. I'm sure you are all wondering what is going on but first let me introduce myself. My name is Estrana and I am the queen of Eltar. Years ago you served under my husband, Zordon of Eltar in the fight against Rita Repulsa and all that is evil. I regret to inform you that our planet has come under attack by the forces of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa who have been brought back to life by their son, Thrax. Eltar is a peaceful planet and, sadly, we do not have the necessary defenses to prevent this attack. The planet of your mentor and leader is in dire need of assistance. I must request the presence of Zordon's ten Power Rangers at the ancient Ninjetti Temple in two days Earth time. Please Rangers, you are the last hope in defending our planet…_

The transmission continued to repeat itself until Billy turned the viewing screen off. The ten Rangers who had served under Zordon looked at each other in shock. Seven of the retired Rangers were being asked to return to duty by Zordon's wife. How could they possibly say no?


	16. Evil Returns

Billy and Haley spent nearly two hours authenticating and verifying the legitimacy of the transmission the team had just received. While the two geniuses were downstairs, Tommy paced anxiously around the living room with the old Rangers and the Dino Thunder team sitting in complete silence.

"Tommy, what are we going to do?" Adam asked softly, breaking the silence.

"They need us on Eltar and there's nothing we can do," Aisha added.

"Man, this sucks," Zack replied "I just wish there was something that we could do."

"Guys, I think I speak for the four of us when I say that, as much as we like having Dr. O, Jason and Kim around, we were doing okay before they got Dino Gems and powers," Connor interjected "We can handle things here on Earth. You guys need to do what you need to do."

Everyone looked at the three other teens as they all nodded in agreement with Connor's statement. Tommy continued to scan the room and took a very deep breath.

"Look, we don't doubt your abilities guys, but if something happens and you need help, we won't be around to do it," Tommy replied.

"Dr. O, with you and all the other old Rangers around we've learned a lot. I really think we can handle this," Kira added.

Tommy wanted to argue but Connor and Kira both were presenting solid arguments. He looked at Jason who slowly nodded his head and continued down the line, looking at all his old teammates, who gave him the same gesture as Jason.

"Alright, even if we all decide to go, there's still the issue of getting to Phaedos and then to Eltar along with the fact that only three out of the ten of us have powers," Tommy muttered in defeat "How do we solve that little problem?"

"Tommy, there's always power," Adam answered "Estrana wouldn't have called for seven inactive Rangers if she didn't have a plan."

"Adam's right, Tommy," Trini added "If this lady is anything like Zordon, she won't just hang us out to dry."

"Fine, how do we get to Phaedos then?" Tommy asked.

"With these," Billy answered as he entered the room. He was carrying a box with ten communicators that resembled their old ones perfectly. "Haley and I have been working on these for the last few weeks just in case we needed them. I say we need them."

Billy began to distribute the devices amongst the former Rangers as he explained their functions. The communicators offered instant teleportation, a distress signal and the basic communication function.

"And you're sure this message from Eltar is real?" Tommy asked hesitantly as Billy nodded his head "Then I guess it's settled. Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira will stay here with Haley while Jason, Kim, Kat, Rocky, Adam, Billy, Aisha, Trini, Zack and myself go to Phaedos."

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Estrana and Dulcea sat together in the shadows on the sacred grounds of Phaedos, preparing for their meeting with the Rangers. Dulcea was extremely worried that the Rangers would be upset when they found the true nature of their being called to the distant planet.

"Have faith in these young people as I do, Dulcea," Estrana said calmly "You and I are much older and have seen much more than they have but their abilities are strong and the conviction with in their hearts to do good is unwavering. Your father had faith in them and so do I."

"I do not doubt them, I just fear for them. They have come here under false pretenses and honesty is something these people highly value," Dulcea answered.

"I know this. It is the reason why they were selected as the defenders of Earth," Estrana replied "When they understand their true calling, they will accept their destinies. Have faith, young one."

"I do have faith but there is something deeper. Something I didn't sense the last time they were here," Dulcea muttered in reply "They are not innocent teenagers with black and white perceptions of the universe anymore. They see a grey area that we do not that allows them to trust others so freely. It is their greatest gift and their worst enemy. I fear for them all, mother."

Estrana extended her arm and slowly ran her hand through Dulcea's hair. She offered a comforting smile to her daughter which Dulcea did her best to reciprocate.

"Everything will be okay, my daughter," Estrana said softly "The prophecy has foretold it."

"Why do you believe so firmly in this prophecy, mother?" Dulcea asked softly.

"Because your father believed in it and that is all the reason I need," Estrana answered calmly.

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The time between their discussion and their departure came much too soon for all of them. Tommy and Kimberly spent every waking moment together, cherishing what could be their last moments on Earth together. Neither was willing to admit it verbally, but they were both thinking the same thing.

Dampened spirits seemed to be the norm at the Oliver house now. Just days before there were fifteen happy people, all enjoying their time together and ignoring the turbulence of life that had thrown wrenches into so many of their lives.

The Dino Thunder team was disheartened to see their friends, mentors and teammates leave them but they assured the veterans that the world would be in safe hands. The teens didn't want any of them to leave but they understood what had to be done.

Silently, ten friends and teammates stood in a straight line in the basement of Tommy's house. Haley was sitting at the desk, typing coordinates in frantically. Their window of time to teleport was expiring quickly and she had to hurry.

"Are you guys ready?" Haley asked hesitantly.

Ten heads all nodded in unison as she turned back to the computer. Having input all the necessary commands there was only one button left to push but something was preventing her from doing it, Billy. Instinctively she ran to him and kissed him passionately in front of all her friends.

"Well, I guess we know where you guys stand now," Jason interjected as his friends tried not to laugh. Haley broke the kiss and stared into Billy's eyes as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Promise me you'll come back to me," Haley said in a whisper.

"You know I can't do that Haley," Billy replied softly "I won't make you a promise I can't keep. But I promise you that I will do my best."

Haley nodded and smiled as Billy reached out and wiped a tear from her eye. She kissed Billy one more time before returning to the computer. After asking again if everyone was ready she let her finger find the last button, not wanting to look at it. She pressed the button as a flash of white light illuminated the room. When the light subsided, she was alone in the room. Only then, when no one was there to see her in her moment of weakness, could she cry freely.

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Ten streaks of white light flew through the Earth's atmosphere and into the cold grip of outer space, not stopping until they descended on to the planet that six of the Rangers had walked so many years ago. It was the place of the Great Power and the place where Tommy had truly realized that he would do anything for Kim.

Nothing had changed about the planet except that Dulcea was a lot more welcoming when the Rangers touched down. She smiled at the one's she recognized and looked calmly at the one's she didn't. They were Zordon's chosen ones and that was good enough for the warrior princess.

"Dulcea, it's good to see you again," Tommy said as he extended his hand "This is Jason the first Red Ranger, Zack our first Black Ranger, Trini the original Yellow Ranger and Kat, the second Pink Ranger."

Dulcea smiled at them all as she greeted the unfamiliar Rangers. Immediately after the introductions she turned to look at Tommy.

"We must hurry," she explained "Estrana waits at the Temple."

Tommy nodded his head as Dulcea quickly turned around and began to lead the way to the Ninjetti Temple. The group of ten followed behind her as they made the twenty minute walk to the plateau where the six had received their animal spirits.

As they arrived the group stared in awe at the woman who was Zordon's widow. She appeared to be no more than twenty and stood gracefully with floor length blonde hair and clear blue eyes as she smiled at the Rangers.

"Welcome, Rangers of Earth," she said softly "It is a great honor to meet the men and women who my husband loved like his own children. You are all remarkable people and it is with great sadness in my heart that we had to meet under these unfortunate circumstances."

"The honor is all ours, Estrana," Jason said strongly "You're husband was a great man and we were blessed to serve under him."

The nine Rangers around Jason all nodded their heads in agreement as the woman in front of them beamed with pride. She stepped in front of Tommy and extended her hand which Tommy took.

"Tommy Oliver, always the leader. You _are _the White Falcon, forever pure, strong and winged lord of the skies," she said as Tommy smiled.

Kim stood next to him, followed by Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Billy, Jason, Zack, Trini and Kat. Slowly, the woman made her way down the line, extending her hand to each of the Rangers and continued.

"Kimberly Hart, the Pink Crane, agile and graceful. Rocky DeSantos, the Red Ape, powerful and smart. Adam Park, the Black Frog, kind and wise. Aisha Campbell, the Yellow Bear, fierce and unstoppable. Billy Cranston, the Blue Wolf, cunning and swift," she continued as she paused in front of those who hadn't obtained their own animal spirits "The rest of you must look inside yourselves and find your inner animal spirit. Close your eyes and look deep as you unlock the animal with in you."

Dulcea pulled out the small cloth bag that held a substance similar to sand. She took a liberal amount in her hand and blew it into the fire that burned at the center of the temple. The Rangers stood and admired their new colors and inspected the animals that emblazoned their chests.

"Jason Scott you are the Silver Dragon, fearless and mighty. Zachary Taylor, the Gold Eagle, clever and calm. Trini Kwan, you are the Orange Tiger, gentle and strong. Katherine Hillard, the Purple Gazelle, speedy and keen," Estrana finished "May your animal spirits guide you in your quest to destroy all that is evil."

The ten Rangers smiled at each other as they removed the cloth that concealed their faces. Tommy looked at everyone as his gaze slowly turned from the group to Estrana.

"Estrana, when do we leave for Eltar," Tommy asked.

"I am afraid that Eltar will not be needing your protection. I felt it necessary to summon the ten of you and decided that I needed something to bring you all together and that was the memory of Zordon," Estrana replied "Tommy, I know you have faith in your Rangers on Earth, the ones you have created, but they are not strong enough for this mission. I needed to separate you all from them and I believed the only way to do that was under the guise that Zordon's planet was at stake. I needed the ten who served under my husband and I apologize for lying to you but I had no other choice."

"Wait, so if we don't have to defend Eltar, what do we have to defend?" Kim asked in a small state of shock.

"The same thing you have always defended, Kimberly," Dulcea interjected as she approached the group "Earth is under attack from an evil you have never seen or experienced before. As we speak your Rangers have lost their powers and Mesogog has fled at the very entrance of this evil and it has not yet even shown itself which proves correct my mother's theory and the prophecy."

"Wait, your mother? What prophecy?" Tommy replied completely ignoring the fact that _his_ Rangers were powerless.

"Yes, Tommy, Estrana is my mother which indeed would make Zordon my father," Dulcea answered "And the prophecy is the same one that Zordon spoke of years ago when Rita first turned you into her Green Ranger only he did not tell the whole story to you all. Mother, would you like to tell them what the prophecy says?"

Estrana nodded as she reached into the inside of her cloak and pulled out a roll of parchment. She unrolled the paper and began to read it out loud.

_Ten will come together, long separated by maturation and time. These ten, selected by the king of all that is good will be the defenders of the planet of man from the greatest evil any has seen as Dai Satan will attempt to restore his evil empire._ She paused for a moment as if skipping over something and then continued._ And if the birds of love still fly when all is said and done, the evil will be banished forever._

"So you see, Rangers, I believe I am safe in saying that if I had told you Earth was in danger you would have let the responsibility fall on the shoulders of the Dino Thunder Rangers. This is something I could not allow to happen," Estrana said calmly.

"We understand, Estrana," Tommy replied "But who is this Dai Satan the prophecy speaks of?"

"He is the ultimate evil. He is not a physical being but a spirit of pure evil bent on destroying all that is good in the world. He must be stopped at all costs, Rangers," Estrana answered.

"Wait, this guy is a spirit? How are we supposed to fight the thing if we can't even touch it?" Rocky asked.

"He will not maintain his form as a spirit for long. With Earth in his sights, he is now looking for a host that he can occupy to carry out his plans," Estrana answered calmly "When he finds a host you will know what to do but you must go now if Earth is to be saved from Armageddon."

The ten Rangers solemnly nodded to Zordon's wife as they stood silently, fear creeping through their bodies. As the Rangers stood side-by-side, a familiar flash of white light enveloped them as they disappeared from Phaedos. Dulcea looked at Estrana and shook her head.

"You have lied to them again mother," Dulcea muttered.

"I did not lie. I only told them exactly what they needed to know," Estrana replied as Dulcea took the scroll from her and began to read it.

_Ten will come together, long separated by maturation and time. These ten, selected by the king of all that is good will be the defenders of the planet of man from the greatest evil any has seen as Dai Satan will attempt to restore his evil empire.__The crane and falcon will fight alone in the final battle but one can not survive while evil exists in the other. They will fight valiantly against each other, having waited years to vent their frustrations. The falcon will rise mightily and if the birds of love still fly together when all is said and done, the evil will be banished forever._

"I can not believe that you did not tell them this. Why would they not need to know this? The falcon will never be able to destroy the crane," Dulcea said quietly and with pain in her voice.

"If he loves her as much as the rest of the prophecy says he should, he won't have to," Estrana answered, leaving her daughter alone to think about her words.

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The Rangers arrived back on Earth and immediately noticed that things had changed already. Tommy checked his watch and saw that it was only noon in the middle of summer and Reefside was cold, dark and quiet.

Immediately their was tension in the group that no one could explain. Eight of the Rangers began to bicker with each other as Tommy and Jason stood still, not knowing what was happening.

"You think you deserve to wear those yellow robes?" Trini spat at Aisha "Zordon chose me for a reason. You aren't worthy to be part of this team."

"Hey, don't talk to her like that," Adam interjected "You're just mad because you were scared and ran away with your little friends while Aisha stayed and fought."

"Last time I checked, Aisha gave her powers to Tanya, Adam. So maybe you should get your facts straight," Zack replied then muttered "Wannabe Black Ranger."

Pretty soon Zordon's original Rangers were standing toe-to-toe with the second generation of Rangers. Rocky was in Billy's face while Adam stood up against Zack. Kim was face-to-face with Kat in a yelling match and Trini was screaming at Aisha. Tommy and Jason looked at each other, both with expressions of hurt on their face and shook their heads slowly.

"Dulcea was right. This evil is strong," Tommy muttered "Especially if it's doing this to our friends."

"I agree, bro. I think we need to try and stop this," Jason answered as he and Tommy quickly began to separate the groups.

Suddenly, just as Tommy and Jason had separated everyone a bolt of lightning crashed down in front of them, splitting the ground and throwing everyone backwards. Now there was a gaping hole separating them as a deep voice echoed around them and they stared at each other in fear, forgetting their bickering minutes before.

"DAI SATAN HAS COME TO RECLAIM THIS WORTHLESS PLANET AND FIND HIS HOST,"the voice said loudly "PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR ARMAGEDDON!"

Another bolt of lightning struck the ground and again threw the Rangers backwards, this time leaving most of them unconscious. Kim and Jason were still conscious on one side and Tommy was awake on the other side.

Unexpectedly the sky opened up above their heads as four large winged creatures came flying towards them. They swooped low and Tommy flipped backwards as he managed to kick one in the head and send it spiraling down into the depths of Earth.

Jason was caught off guard by the attackers and got thrown into a tree. Kim screamed loudly as two of the winged creatures grabbed her and attempted to fly off with her. Tommy saw this and he quickly ran towards the hole and jumped over it, grabbing Kim around the waist and bringing her down with him as they landed safely on the other side.

The other Rangers had started to slowly come around and looked at the creatures in pure shock. Tommy looked at everyone and prepared to speak but he didn't have to as they all nodded their heads. He took a deep breath and put his arm behind his back.

"It's Morphin' Time!" he yelled.

"Black Ranger Power! Gold Ranger Power! Yellow Ranger Power! Blue Ranger Power! Red Ranger Power! Orange Ranger Power! Purple Ranger Power! Pink Ranger Power! Silver Ranger Power! White Ranger Power!" the ten yelled in order as the familiar rush of energy passed over their bodies.

They stood tall, ready to fight but the creatures were gone. Tommy looked up just in time to see the them disappear into the sky as the evil voice returned.

"SHE WILL BE MINE!" the voice erupted "THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT! THE PROPHECY WILL BE FULFILLED!"

Everyone, even those who were unconscious when the creatures arrived, looked at Kimberly. She looked at her friends with fear in her eyes as Tommy did his best to comfort her.

"We won't let him get you, Kim._** I**_ won't let him get you. I promise," he said softly as he put his arm around her.

Tommy ignored the words of Dulcea and Estrana. He believed that this evil was no different than Lord Zedd, Rita, King Mondo or Ivan Ooze. He didn't understand how evil Dai Satan was and that when the evil spirit set its' sight on something, it got what it wanted.

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_Okay guys, sorry it took so long to get this up. I wrote the ending to the last chapter on a whim and didn't realize how hard it was going to be to have two separate stories happening on two separate planets so I had to do some quick (or not so quick, in my case) thinking and find a way to patch some things up. For those of you who don't know, Dai Satan was the name of Lokar in the Zyuranger series. In the Sentai Series he was supposed to be more evil than Bandora (Rita) and all her minions combined. I always felt he was underused and turned into a third-rate character for the sake of not scarring the inner child of America's youth so this is my way of making him more central, even though he isn't really a "he" anymore but a completely separate entity. I hope you like it._


	17. A Different Shade of Kimberly

Kim slept silently upstairs as the rest of the team sat around Tommy's living room, discussing what had just transpired. The bickering had been put to rest at the mere voice of Dai Satan and everyone was seemed to be getting along much better now. Tommy looked around the room and saw traces of fear on everyone that was sitting around him as he slowly bowed his head.

"He's gonna come for Kim," Tommy muttered "He said it when you were knocked out. He wants Kim to be his host."

"We won't let that happen, Tommy," Adam said, doing his best to reassure their leader.

"We can't let that happen," Billy added solemnly "Once Dai Satan has found a host, the only way to destroy it is to kill the person he occupies."

The words struck Tommy hard and his expression became one that was full of sadness as he looked at the others in the room. He had nine veteran Rangers on his side now but that didn't seem to comfort him like it would have in the past. The White Ranger was truly fearful for what could happen to them, especially to Kim.

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Kim could feel the ground shake underneath her as she stood in the shadows of a very familiar room. She quickly realized where she was and tried to move to the familiar sights but the ground was shaking too hard for her to walk.

"Danger, danger. It's the big one. I know it. We'll all be destroyed," Alpha 5 cried out.

"Calm down, Alpha, it's Rita. She's escaped and she's attacking the planet," Zordon answered.

"Ay-yi-yi. What do we do?" Alpha asked.

"Teleport to us five over-bearing and over-emotional humans," Zordon replied.

"No, not that!" Alpha whined "Not teenagers."

"That is correct, Alpha," Zordon answered.

"I was afraid of that," Alpha muttered as he pushed a few buttons.

As the shaking subsided Kim watched as five familiar streaks of light came through the entrance and giggled to herself a little bit as the five soon-to-be-Rangers landed on the floor in a heap. When the teenagers finally managed to pull themselves up, Kim let out a small gasp as her hand found her mouth. Jason, Zack, Trini and Billy were there but where she should have been, there was someone new, someone that she had never seen before.

She watched as the scene played out in front of her and Zordon explained to them about Rita, the Power Morphers and the Zords. Quickly, she ducked around the corner and out of sight as the teenagers practically laughed at what Zordon was saying and turned to exit the command center.

When they left, Kim ran out and stood in front of Zordon and Alpha. The small robot turned to look at Zordon and shrugged his metallic shoulders.

"Zordon, who was that girl. Why wasn't I there?" Kim asked impatiently.

"Because you, Kimberly, are the reason for everything bad that has ever happened to your friends. If you never became a Ranger none of them would have had to experience the pain and hurt you have caused them, especially Tommy," Zordon answered "I am simply protecting them from what you would have caused and what you are going to cause."

"But…" Kim muttered as Zordon cut her off.

"You do not deserve to be a Power Ranger, Kimberly. I thought you were better than this but I was wrong. You are weak," Zordon interjected "You are weak. You are weak. You are weak. You are weak."

The words continued to echo in Kim's head as she bolted upright in the bed. She was breathing hard and was trying to regain her composure as she wiped some sweat from her brow. The familiar sight of Tommy's room eventually came into view and she exhaled deeply in relief, falling back down on the bed.

She saw that Tommy's side of the bed was unoccupied and she assumed he was still down stairs with the others. She tried to go back to sleep but Zordon's words kept echoing in her head and the sleep she so desperately desired would not come.

Eventually, she decided that being cooped up in the house was not going to help her so she climbed out of bed and threw on a pair of sweats and her running shoes. She didn't want to disturb anyone so she slowly climbed out of the window and dropped down the ten or so feet to the grass below her, taking off into the woods.

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Midnight rolled around and everyone was slowly beginning to disperse. Soon, Tommy was left with Jason and Kat so he decided to turn in for the night.

He began to climb the stairs and make his way to his bedroom. When he got to the door, he opened it gently, not wanting to disturb Kim.

The first thing that caught his eye was the empty bed and soon enough his eyes found the open window. His first instinct was the communicators but when he pushed the button for Kim he heard the device beeping a few feet away from him.

"JASON!" Tommy yelled as he turned out of the room and ran downstairs.

Jason came running around the corner and nearly collided head-on with Tommy. Tommy clung to Jason as he and Kat did his best to help him stay standing.

"Tommy, what's going on?" Jason asked nervously.

"It's Kim," Tommy muttered "She's gone."

"Shit," Jason replied quietly "Kat, go downstairs and see if you can get a lock on her. Tommy, let's go."

Tommy could only nod his head in reply, unable to find any words. He grabbed a flashlight as they ran outside and to the side of the house where the bedroom window was. Tommy noticed footprints in the grass and directed Jason to follow him.

The pair took off in the same direction as the footprints and soon they found themselves in the woods. Tommy was panting from running so hard and the only thing that stopped him was the communicator beeping.

"Kat, go ahead," Jason muttered into his communicator as the pair came to a stop.

"I found Kimberly. She's about 1,500 yards northwest from you but she's moving quickly," Kat answered.

Jason said okay and they took off in the direction that Kat had told them to follow. After five minutes of pure sprinting Kim finally came into their view and Tommy began to yell her name.

Kim thought she heard something and slowed down for a second but quickly came to the conclusion that it was her mind playing tricks on her so she continued running. Tommy and Jason kicked it into overdrive as they continued to chase after Kim.

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From the Sea of Tranquility on the moon, the spirit of Dai Stan floated as one of the winged creatures approached it. The creature dropped to one knee and looked at the floating mist, preparing to speak.

"My lord, the one you desire is alone," the winged creature hissed.

"Good," the voice replied "Take me down there with a group of Avians and make sure that she becomes mine this time. Do not fail me again."

"Yes, master," the creature answered as it turned and left the room to gather backup.

A loud and evil laugh erupted from the moon and carried for miles into the depths of outer space. The Avians, in a pack close to thirty, began their descent to Earth with Dai Satan which only increased the pure glee the spirit was feeling.

_Soon, I will have my host_ Dai Stan thought greedily at the prospect of again occupying a physical being.

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Finally, Tommy and Jason had gotten within a hundred yards of Kim and she eventually heard them yelling her name and came to s top. Quickly, she turned around, saw Tommy and Jason and took off towards them.

She got within ten feet of them when the Avians came flying through the trees, knocking everyone backwards and to the ground. Tommy quickly stood up and dove after Kim, grabbing her and holding on tight.

The creatures landed and formed a circle around Tommy and Kimberly, leaving Jason on the outside. The couple went back-to-back as they prepared to take on the Avians. Tommy looked back at Kim who nodded nervously as Tommy looked the other way at Jason who also nodded in agreement.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Tommy yelled.

"Pink Ranger Power!" Kim called.

"Silver Ranger Power!" Jason continued.

"White Ranger Power!" Tommy finished.

Jason quickly sprinted towards them and launched himself into a corkscrew flip over the Avians, landing right next to Tommy and Kim. The creatures were not very intelligent and the transformation had stunned them a little bit. Tommy walked towards one and extended his hand as if he was greeting the creature.

"Welcome to Earth. I'd like you to meet a close friend of mine," Tommy said as his hand began to glow "Ugly guys, this is Saba. Saba, meet ugly guys."

"Oh the pleasure is surely mine, friends," the talking sword said in the familiar English accent as Tommy threw it and it began to spin around the inner circle.

Saba continued to gain speed until it was nothing more than a blur of grey and white. The Avians were watching this and had begun to get dizzy as the sword continued to pass in front of them.

One of the creatures became so confused that he stuck his hand out just to see what would happen when Saba came back around. It wasn't a pretty sight as the sword ripped through the hand of the Avian causing the creatures' hand to explode in a flurry of feathers.

Tommy stuck his hand out and Saba flew into it, almost magnetically. He stepped up to the teetering Avians, tapped one in the chest and laughed as it tumbled to the ground.

"See guys, that's why you should never fly under the influence," Tommy taunted as he kicked one in the head and swung Saba at another.

This seemed to wake the Avians from their stupor and they quickly spread out, going after Tommy and Jason because Kim had seemingly disappeared. Tommy was too busy to notice Kim's disappearance and so was Jason who was having a tough time with the creatures.

"I could sure use a weapon right now!" Jason yelled as he tried to fight the creatures hand-to-hand which was proving extremely difficult.

"Do what you always do!" Tommy yelled back as Jason got the idea. He kicked one of the creatures away and back flipped into a defensive position.

"I call upon the power of the Power Sword!" Jason called out.

Tommy watched as the familiar sword came flying down through the sky and into Jason's hand. Both of them marveled at the sword which was the same as it had always been except silver had replaced the red on the handle.

Kim had taken the distraction caused by Saba to launch herself into a sniper position in the trees. She summoned her Power Bow and carefully began to pick off the Avians with well placed arrows. When there were only a few left, she jumped down from the tree to the side of Tommy and Jason.

Tommy quickly took notice of the fact that the Avians were down to their last two fighters. He gave Jason and Kim both nods as he spun Saba around back and forth in his hand, creating a whistling noise before pointing it towards the sky.

"We call upon the power of all those combined!" Tommy yelled.

"Power Bow!" Kim called out throwing her bow in the air.

"Power Sword!" Jason continued, placing his sword on the left side of the bow.

"Saba!" Tommy finished as he put his sword on the right side.

"Say hello to our American Express, the new Power Blaster," Jason said with a laugh "Don't ever leave home without it."

"Come on Tommy, let's send these birdbrains back to the zoo," Kim encouraged.

Tommy nodded as he handed the bow to Kim. They watched as she pulled the string back and sent the swords flying at the Avians. As the makeshift arrows connected with their targets, the three Rangers laughed loudly as the creatures exploded in a heap of feathers.

As the feathers fluttered to the ground the Rangers quickly powered down and started to congratulate each other. They were so caught up in their mini-celebration that none of them saw an Avian, apparently one that had been in hiding, fly overhead and let go of what appeared to be a vase.

The trio jumped back at the sound of the container shattering about fifteen feet away from them. They all looked down and then back at each other in shock as a red mist began to creep out of the container, swirling up towards them.

"SHE IS MINE!" the voice called out as the mist began to shape itself into a ball.

Kim screamed out as the red mist began to fly towards her. Tommy instinctively dove headfirst in front of her, hoping to block the spirit but it was too late.

He looked up from his spot on the ground and saw Kim sprawled out on the dirt with her eyes closed. She was out cold and not moving at all. Jason tried his best to comfort Tommy as he held Kim in his arms, rocking her back and forth while trying to fight the onset of tears.

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Dulcea and Estrana stood on the plateau of the Ninjetti Temple in silence, watching the fire in the pit burning in front of their eyes. Suddenly, Dulcea grabbed her chest and fell to her knees, struggling to breathe. Slowly, she regained her composure and turned to Estrana.

"Mother, it has happened. I can feel it," Dulcea muttered "Dai Satan has found his host. It was the pink crane as the prophecy foretold."

"I have felt it too, my daughter. There is nothing we can do now," Estrana answered "The fate of the pink crane now depends solely on the white falcon doing his part."

"You must go down there and help them, mother," Dulcea replied "The falcon will not know what to do if he does not know the full prophecy."

"I do not want him to know the full prophecy, Dulcea," Estrana returned "If he does then he will think his only chance to stop Dai Satan is to kill the crane. He needs to discover the true meaning of the prophecy on his own."

Dulcea simply nodded her head slowly in agreement as she turned away from Estrana. Silently, she prayed that Tommy was strong enough to discover what the prophecy really meant before it was too late and he did something he would regret for the rest of his life.

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Tommy held tightly onto Kim as Jason tried his best to comfort him. Tommy was sobbing loudly, trying to wake Kim up but nothing was working. He laid her gently on the dirt as he turned away to talk to Jason.

"Tommy, we don't know if he's occupied her yet. He could have just injured her," Jason said reassuringly but it wasn't helping.

Tommy's eyes were beginning to puff out and they were already bloodshot from crying. The tears flooded his face and he had to grab a tree branch to keep himself standing.

"It's too late, Jason," Tommy muttered "He got to her and I couldn't stop it. I failed her just like I've failed her so many other times."

Jason didn't want to hear what he was saying so he pulled Tommy into a hug, holding him tightly afraid that he would lose control. Tommy had his back to Kim and Jason's eyes grew wide at what he saw. Kim was fully enveloped in flames and would have been standing except her feet were at least three to four feet of the ground. Jason instinctively turned Tommy around as they both stared at Kim in pure shock.

"Holy shit," Jason said in a whisper.

"Oh my God," Tommy muttered.

"No God here, Tommy," Kim replied "Just pure unadulterated evil. Prepare to feel my wrath."

Kim seemed to be harnessing the fire around her body and had quickly turned it into a ball of energy. She flung her arms out and sent the ball of fire right at Jason and Tommy. The pair dove in separate directions, narrowly avoiding the blast that ripped holes through at least five huge trees behind them. It would have most certainly been a fatal blow if it had connected with either one of them.

"Kim, please don't do this. We can help you," Tommy pleaded but it was no use. She sent another fireball at them which whizzed just past Tommy's arm, singing some of his hairs.

"Run while you still have the chance," Kim heckled "Your world will become mine soon."

She disappeared instantly, leaving Tommy and Jason alone in the woods. After regaining their composure, they quickly teleported back to the house to find that Kat had called everyone back. She had seen everything on the viewing screen and figured Tommy would need all the support he could get.

As they landed in the living room, Tommy fell to his knees as Jason struggled to keep him on his feet. Tommy felt his anger burning inside of him and he quickly stood up, turned around and put a hole in the wall with his foot. The pain set in almost instantly and he fell to the ground, grabbing his leg.

Tears were falling down his face at rapid speed as the others all came running in to the room, Dino Thunder Rangers included. Kat had called everyone to make sure Tommy knew that they were there for him.

Jason, Rocky and Adam quickly grabbed Tommy by his arms and legs and helped him to the couch. Tommy was shivering so Jason sent Zack and Aisha after some blankets for him.

"She's gone," Tommy muttered as his teeth began to chatter.

Suddenly, he got up and ran to the bathroom, narrowly avoiding Zack and Aisha as he flung his head into the toilet. He was on his knees, hugging the base of the toilet when Kat cautiously walked in.

She gently began to rub his back and tried to calm him down. He stood up, grabbed a towel to wipe his mouth and immediately felt himself being pulled into an embrace by Kat.

"Tommy, we'll make this better. I promise," Kat whispered even though she didn't believe the words that were coming out of her own mouth.

"Kat, I can't kill her. I know what I have to do but I don't think I have it in me. I love her too much," Tommy sobbed as he buried his head in Kat's shoulder "What am I going to do, Kat? What am I going to do?"

"I don't know, Tommy. I really don't," Kat answered honestly "Maybe Billy and Haley can think of something."

Tommy tried his best to gather his composure as he broke the hug with Kat and slowly headed back to the living room. He collapsed on the couch as everyone looked at him with sympathy.

"Dr. O, is there anything we can do for you?" Kira asked softly.

Tommy looked at the former Yellow Ranger and tried to force a smile as he wiped his eyes. He shook his head no because all he really wanted was to be alone.

"No thank you, Kira," Tommy answered "I appreciate it though. Why don't you guys go home and get some rest."

All four teens went to protest but Jason shot them a stern look that said now wasn't the time to argue. They quietly nodded their heads and said goodbye, leaving the other Rangers to deal with the emotional wrecking ball that Tommy had become.

Everyone tried to offer kind words and reassurances but nothing was working. Tommy just shook his head and cried until no more tears would come and he had expunged enough energy to force himself into a restless sleep.

Tears were flowing down the faces of every female and most of the males in the room too. They had never seen Tommy this distraught but it was understandable considering what he had to do. Or at least what they thought he had to do.

Eventually everyone began to grow tired and they all went in different directions within the house to sleep. Jason threw a blanket over Tommy and patted him softly on the shoulder as Kat stood by his side.

"I'm sorry, old friend," Jason muttered as Kat bent down to kiss Tommy on the forehead.

Slowly, and with great sadness, the pair climbed the stairs to try and get some sleep. When they reached the top step, Jason turned around to look at Tommy as a single tear escaped his eye and fell to the floor before he turned back around and walked into the guest bedroom.

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	18. This Ends Now

_Author's Note: Okay, this chapter might get a little bit confusing as it shows Kim struggling to fight off Dai Satan's spirit that possesses her. There will be a few times where Kim says something and then Dai Satan says something in Kim's body. Just wanted to let you know so no one gets confused. Now, on with the story._

Kim writhed in pain as she sat in a cave somewhere with no recollection of where she was or how she got there. All she knew was that something had taken over her body and she was doing her best to fight it off.

She had been briefly successful in getting rid of the spirit that possessed her on multiple occasions but it was only momentarily and Dai Satan would quickly regain his control over her. Tears flowed down her face as she tried to break the spirit's control over her. It was either the death of all her friends or her own death and she wasn't really willing to face either of them.

Her connection to Tommy and to the Dino Gem was the only thing that was keeping her from being fully possessed. She could feel Tommy and his thoughts and the pain from it was becoming damn near intolerable for her.

"Just leave me alone," Kim pleaded "Find someone else please."

"No. You are mine now," Dai Satan answered through Kim's mouth "I will destroy your friends but don't worry. I'll try to be as merciful as possible with them. All of them except Tommy."

Kim continued to cry, this time louder and stronger, as more thoughts of Tommy continued to creep into her head. All she wanted was to be free of this curse and with her love again but the spirit of Dai Satan was insistent on occupying Kim, probably because he knew that it would be close to impossible for Tommy to do any serious damage to her.

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Two weeks passed with no real word from Kim or Dai Satan or whatever he or she was now but the two weeks felt like two years to Tommy. Dai Satan hadn't shown himself since occupying Kim but their had been numerous Avian attacks all over the world and they could tell that Dai Satan was serious because he wasn't just focusing on one city like all their other adversaries had done. Thousands of people had died because of the attacks and there was billions of dollars in property damage as well.

The Rangers had been on constant alert, sometimes having to leave at three in the morning to cut off an attack in Rome or Berlin or London. Tommy rarely moved outside of the battles and when he did it was in very slow motion.

He was laying on the couch at ten in the morning watching old episodes of _The Price is Right _after a long night in Toronto and he could vaguely hear the phone ring in the other room. Absolutely no effort was made to answer the phone from Tommy so Jason took it upon himself to answer it for him.

A minute or two later Jason came into the room carrying the phone. He stood in front of Tommy, making sure to block the television and held the phone out for him. Tommy waved his hand, saying no, but Jason wouldn't hear it.

"You need to take this call," Jason insisted as Tommy begrudgingly obliged.

"Hello," Tommy muttered as he put the receiver to his ear.

"Hello, my brother," the man on the other end answered.

"David?" Tommy asked sadly "How are you?"

"I have been much better, Tommy," David answered "I feel the falcon growing weaker day after day. What is wrong with you?"

Tommy took a deep breath as he began to tell David what happened. It took him close to ten minutes to get the story out and by the time he did, he was crying again. David did his best to offer comforting words but nothing he said was making Tommy feel better.

"Tommy, just know this," David said softly "As long as the falcon loves the crane and the crane loves the falcon, no harm will come to either of them."

Tommy managed to mutter an okay and a goodbye as he hit the "end" button and let the phone fall from his hand to the floor. Jason came back in and looked at Tommy apprehensively, hoping David had said something to make his best friend feel better. Tommy stood up and slowly held his hand up, signaling Jason not to follow him as he went into the backyard.

As Tommy felt the wet grass under his feet he lowered himself down to one knee before bringing his other leg back too. He bowed his head and then did something that no one had ever seen him do before, he prayed.

"God, I know I don't do this as often as I should but I'm really in a pickle right now and I need some guidance," Tommy whispered "I might have to do something terrible later and I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Please Lord, give me anything. Give me some kind of sign that tells me what to do. I've never asked you for anything before and you know I'm not one to ask for special treatment but I could sure use a hand right now with this one. Thanks, God."

Slowly, Tommy got back on his feet and started to walk back to the door when something inside of him that he couldn't explain made him look to the sky. Soaring over his head were a falcon and a crane that seemed to be playing with each other while flying.

Then a streak of white light flew through the air as a streak of pink light from the other direction collided with it causing an eruption of pink and white light to flood the sky. People in Reefside would talk about it for weeks after that but only two in the world people could truly understand what it meant.

Tommy opened the door and quickly walked through the living room, passing everyone on his way. When he got to the basement door, he brushed past Jason and turned around.

"Get the others," Tommy muttered "This ends now and on my terms."

Jason simply nodded as he ran off to round up the others. Five minutes later they were all downstairs watching Tommy sitting down and typing feverishly as the screen above his head began to change into some kind of map.

Tommy directed their attention to a spot on the map that was glowing pink. They realized that that was where Kim was and that Tommy intended to go after her instead of waiting for her to come to them.

"I can't force you to go with me," Tommy grumbled "This is going to be very dangerous and there's a good chance that we won't make it out alive."

"I don't care," Jason answered "I'm in."

"No doubt about it," Zack replied "I'm in too."

"Affirmative," Billy added with a head nod.

Tommy looked at his friends and smiled a little bit as he saw nothing but head nods and heard nothing but agreements. He thanked them all as he slowly stood up from his chair.

"Kim is mine though," Tommy added "I'm sure Dai Satan will have plenty of goons for you to deal with but I want Kim. No one is doing this but me, is that understood?"

The others nodded as Haley took a seat in Tommy's now unoccupied chair. She looked at the group and told them all to be careful as she turned to input their coordinates for teleportation.

"Let's make this the last time we say this," Tommy muttered without much enthusiasm "It's Morphin' Time."

"Black Ranger Power! Gold Ranger Power! Yellow Ranger Power! Blue Ranger Power! Red Ranger Power! Orange Ranger Power! Purple Ranger Power! Silver Ranger Power! White Ranger Power!" the nine yelled in order as their suits and helmets began to cover each of them.

"Good luck," Haley whispered as she pressed the button, watching the Rangers disappear in a flash of multicolored light.

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As the Rangers landed on the beach, Tommy could feel Kim somewhere nearby but he quickly realized that there was no time for that right now. A huge army of at least a thousand Avians landed around them, preventing any of them from moving very far.

Tommy noticed the figure of Kim step out of the shadows of the cave as she started to walk towards them. She flicked her wrist and the bird-like creatures stepped aside, forming a makeshift walkway for Tommy. He looked at Kim who pointed to the cave and turned around, waiting for Tommy to follow her.

It took him a few seconds to realize what she wanted and when he finally did figure it out he quickly ran after her and into the cave. When he reached the entrance, everything was dark except for a small orange glow which Tommy assumed was one of Kim's new fire balls.

He watched the glowing sphere as Kim threw it against the walls. It ricocheted back and forth until the cave was fully illuminated. Tommy looked at Kim through his helmet and felt his heart being ripped out of him. He could see Kim struggle to fight the spirit as her eyes changed from deep black to her normal brown.

"Kim, you have to fight it," Tommy pleaded.

"I'm trying, Tommy. But I…" she began as the evil inside took over "No. You will pay for trying to stop the great Dai Satan. Prepare to die, human."

Kim extended her arm to the sky as Tommy braced himself for another fire ball but none came. Instead, a sword appeared in her hand and she pointed it towards Tommy, trying to get him to fight.

Tommy took a deep breath and, reluctantly, flicked his wrist to summon Saba. The familiar sword appeared in his hand and before he had time to even position himself Kim was running towards him with her sword, preparing to strike.

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Outside, Jason and the other Rangers were doing their best to handle the massive army of Avians that Dai Satan had summoned to fight them. They were severely outnumbered which was only made worse by the fact that two of their teammates were in a cave fighting each other.

"Guys, we need our weapons!" Jason shouted "I need the Power Sword!"

The others took notice of what Jason was doing and were quick to recreate his actions. Adam started off by calling for the Power Axe as Aisha called for the Power Daggers and Rocky called for his own Power Sword. Billy continued by calling for his Power Lance as the others watched Zack and Trini to see what new weapons they would have.

"Power Sais!" Trini called out as the purple sais landed in her grip.

"Power Hatchets!" Zack yelled as two gold hatchets fell into his hands.

Now that they all had weapons the Rangers stood a better chance but it was still going to be a tough battle for them considering how immensely outnumbered they were. They quickly launched into separate attacks, taking on as many of the Avians as possible.

Every time the Rangers thought they were making a dent in the population of the creatures they were quickly brought back into reality as more soon appeared. Apparently, Dai Satan had a surplus of the creatures on hand just waiting to get into the fight.

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Their swords collided as Tommy blocked a low swing from Kimberly. He was trying to stay on the defensive for fear of hurting Kim but he was going to lose this battle if he continued with that approach and he knew it.

He continued to block blow after blow until he found the opening he was looking for. He blocked an attack and then, without even thinking about it, kicked Kim in the stomach, sending her flying into the cave wall.

She cried out in pain and slumped to the floor as Tommy winced at the sight of her pain but he didn't have time to worry about that. Soon enough she was back on her feet and picking up her sword, charging at Tommy again and forcing him to go back on the defensive.

He flipped himself backwards as he dodged an attack and then ducked underneath another. He swiftly moved Saba at Kim's leg as she let out a high pitch scream. Tommy watched in shock and pain as blood began to drip from where Tommy had stuck.

"You'll pay for that you son of a bitch," Dai Satan muttered as she struck Tommy in the shoulder, throwing him backwards and causing sparks to fly from his shield.

Somehow he managed to get himself into a sitting position and rolled out of the way of another attack just in time. He swept his leg at Kim's feet as she fell and he launched himself back onto his feet.

"I won't keep fighting you, Kim," Tommy said softly as she looked up at him.

"Then you will die," she replied as she pushed herself back up and began to harness a fireball.

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Somehow, the Rangers had managed to eliminate all of the Avians in sight. They were all panting and gasping for breath by the time Adam had sliced the head off the last creature with his axe.

Just when they thought they had finally caught a break, the ground beneath them opened up and two fifty-foot monsters appeared in front of them. These weren't any monsters like they had seen in the past, either.

There were no funny names or silly gimmicks just pure evil beings that were solid black aside from their red eyes. They looked like how you would think Big Foot would look except with the differences in skin and eye color.

"Uhh, guys," Rocky muttered as he pointed to the sky "Monsters. Big ones."

"Shit, shit, shit. I hope this works," Jason replied "We need Ninja Zord Power now!"

The Rangers watched as they heard the familiar noises of their Zords. Jason's Silver Dragon Zord converted itself into a warrior mode similar to the way his Red Dragon Zord had done in the past as the Wolf and Ape Zords latched onto its' arms.

The Bear and Frog Zords became leg shields as Zack's Eagle Zord became the chest shield that had normally been Kim's spot. Finally, Trini's Tiger Zord jumped onto the back of the Mega Zord and Kat's Gazelle transformed itself into a spear.

The eight Rangers sat in the control room of the Mega Zord as they prepared to do battle with these monsters. One immediately began to attack the Mega Zord as they managed to somehow block the blow with the staff.

While the Mega Zord was busy with one of the monsters, the other managed to sneak in a blindside attack that sent the huge machine falling to the ground below. Jason simply shook his head in frustration as they all tried to get the Mega Zord back into a fighting position.

"I hope Tommy's having better luck in there than we are out here," Jason muttered as the Mega Zord narrowly avoided another blow.

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Tommy had managed to knock Kim back onto the ground but the spirit of Dai Satan was relentless and refused to give up. Dai Satan certainly underestimated how far Tommy was willing to go, that's for sure because Tommy was growing more and more relentless too as the battle progressed.

Kim dove at Tommy and, as he flipped back to avoid the attack, his foot connected with her chin. Tommy landed on his feet and turned around to see Kim sprawled out on the floor. He quickly ran over to her and pointed Saba at her as the sword released energy beams from its eyes that bound Kim's hands and feet.

She tried to break free but the powerful restraints were too much even for something as strong as Dai Satan. Tommy pointed his sword at Kimberly's chest as she closed her eyes and prepared for the fatal attack. Tommy looked at her and when she opened her eyes they were no longer black but her normal shade of brown which caused him to hesitate momentarily.

"Tommy, do it, please," Kim begged "I can't deal with this anymore, it's too painful. Just end it baby, please. I want you to know that I love you and that I always will. We'll see each other again one day, I promise."

Tommy stared at her through his helmet as tears started to flow down his face. He raised his sword, preparing to deliver the final blow but a voice echoed in his head and stopped him.

_If the birds of love still fly together when all is said and done, the evil will be banished forever._

Tommy blinked his eyes, clearing the tears from them as another voice crept into his head. This time it was David's.

_Just know this. As long as the falcon loves the crane and the crane loves the falcon, no harm will come to either of them. As long as the falcon loves the crane. The falcon loves the crane. The falcon loves the crane._

He threw Saba to the floor, out of both their reaches as he slowly removed his helmet and he tossed it aside too. Tears were flowing freely now as he watched Kim continue to struggle with the spirit inside of her. Tommy also noticed that her eyes were changing colors almost every time she blinked as well.

"Do it you puny human," Dai Satan spat out "End it now and save your friends. Nothing can save her now. The prophecy has said that you must kill me or I will destroy the world."

"Fuck the prophecy," Tommy spat back at him "I don't believe in it."

"Tommy, please just do it. Get it over with," Kim begged as tears continued to flow from her eyes.

"I can't and I don't believe that nothing can save you, Beautiful," Tommy answered "I love you too much to give up on you because of some stupid prophecy. As long as the falcon loves the crane and the crane loves the falcon, no harm will come to either of them. Do you love me Kim?"

Kim tried her best to fight off the spirit and managed to sneak in a head nod which was all she could muster before Dai Satan took over again and continued to taunt Tommy.

"Kim, I love you. Tell me you love me dammit," Tommy pleaded "I need you to tell me that you love me Kim, please."

She continued to fight her possessor as Tommy blinked back tears. Kim closed her eyes and tried her best to muster up all her strength.

"I love you," she managed to squeak out as her eyes opened "I love you, Tommy Oliver and I always will."

Suddenly, Kim began to convulse as rays of bright light began to explode from her body. She jerked violently as Tommy watched on in horror, afraid to do anything.

"No, this is impossible," Dai Satan hissed "How can this be? I am the supreme evil in the universe. No one has ever managed to stop me before."

Kim's mouth opened wide as red mist began to pour from her mouth and into the air, escaping her body. The mist slowly began to fizzle until it disappeared completely.

Outside, the Mega Zord was getting abused badly but as soon as the spirit of Dai Satan disappeared, so did the monsters. Inside the cockpit, the Rangers let go sighs of relief as they quickly exited their Zords, powered down and took off towards the cave to find Tommy and Kim.

Tommy continued to stare in silence as Kim's convulsions finally began to slow down. By the time Kim had stopped shaking and the light had subsided she was unconscious. Tommy quickly jumped to her side, holding her in his arms as he ran his hand through her hair.

"Please Kim, don't leave me," Tommy pleaded "I love you so much and there's so many things we need to do. Don't quit on me now, Beautiful. Don't quit on me, Kim. I can't live without you."

The words escaped his mouth so fast that anyone who had been listening wouldn't have been able to understand anything he was saying. Tommy heard footsteps and he turned around to see the eight other Rangers staring at him in silence.

"Tommy, is she…" Jason began afraid to finish the question.

"No," Tommy answered as the others seemed to calm down a little at hearing that "But she's unconscious. We need to get her back to the command center as quickly as possible."

The others nodded as Jason and Adam helped Tommy to his feet. Tommy powered down the rest of the way and bent down as he lifted Kim into his arms.

"Are you okay, Tommy?" Adam asked out of concern even though he knew it probably wasn't the best time.

"I'm fine, Adam," Tommy muttered almost coldly but quickly caught his mistake "I'm sorry, bro, I"m not trying to be an ass. I'm just really worried about Kim and the sooner we get her back to the command center, the better."

Adam nodded his head in understanding as he stepped back from Tommy to give him and Kim some space. They lined up side-by-side as Jason brought his communicator to his lips.

"Haley, it's Jason," he said quietly "Can you teleport us out of here? We have Kim but she's hurt badly."

"No problem, Jason," Haley replied as she locked onto their location and began to teleport them back.

Thirty seconds later they landed in the basement command center as Tommy immediately told Jason where to find the gurney. Jason quickly went after it and came back a few minutes later with the stretcher on wheels as Tommy gently laid Kim onto it and walked away, afraid to even look at her in the condition she was in.

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For the next two days Tommy spent every waking and every sleeping moment in a chair at Kim's side. Periodically, someone would come down to check on him and bring him something to eat or drink but they all knew that the only thing that would make Tommy better was for Kim to wake up.

Tommy took Kim's hand in his as he gently rubbed her left ring finger. Tears continued to fill his eyes and he looked at his unconscious girlfriend as he thought, just for a moment, that he saw her eyes flutter but he quickly shook it off as his mind playing tricks on him.

"I want to put a ring there, Kim," Tommy said softly as he continued to rub her finger "So you can't quit on me because I have a ton of plans for us. We're gonna get married in a big church with all our friends and family there to celebrate it, then we're gonna have a bunch of kids that Jason and all the others can spoil rotten and we're gonna grow old together Kim, just like we always used to talk about. I'll never be a Ranger again if you wake up, Kim. I'll leave it all behind for you if you'll just say something, anything."

How he managed to get out the statement was something he couldn't explain but somehow, someway he had managed to regain his composure enough to say something coherent but that was all he could manage. He lost control shortly after and cried until he fell asleep with his head resting on Kim's stomach.

A few hours later he lifted his head up and immediately began to work the kinks out of his neck. As his eyes slowly found Kim's face he saw that she was looking back at him with a huge smile on her face. Tommy instantly threw his arms around her as he buried his face in her shoulders.

"How long have you been awake?" Tommy asked quietly.

"Since right before you started talking earlier," Kim answered "When you fell asleep you looked so cute and peaceful and I just didn't have the heart to wake you up."

Tommy smiled at her as tears began to fill his eyes as well as her own. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and bent down to give her the most passionate kiss they had ever shared with each other. Kim broke the kiss as she pulled back and looked at Tommy.

"Do you really want to marry me?" Kim asked "Especially after everything I've done?"

"Kim, I don't care what you do. I will always love you and yes, I do want to marry you," Tommy replied as he got off the chair and got on one knee "I don't have a ring for you but I want to know if you, Kimberly Ann Hart, will make me, Thomas Oliver, the happiest man alive and marry me."

Kim sobbed a little bit as she looked at Tommy and nodded her head yes. Tommy smiled brightly at her as he kissed her again. Suddenly, he got an urge to tell everyone and he hopped up and took off for the stair. He flung open the door and found the eight other Rangers sitting in the living room, talking quietly.

"Guys," he said loudly so he knew that they heard him "We're getting married."


	19. Smells Like A Wedding

Tommy paced back and forth in the living room looking at his friends who were shaking their heads silently and an expression of anger mixed with disappointment soon found his face. He had expected his friends to be happy about him getting married and, truth be told, they were. They just had some reservations about the marriage and Tommy couldn't figure out why.

Jason had said that he thought Tommy was rushing into something that he wasn't prepared for and the others, except for Adam, had silently agreed. Even though Jason had known Tommy the longest, Adam had been his teammate longer and he had seen the side of a Kim-less Tommy for years and it was something he didn't want to see experience again.

"Why don't you want me to get married, Jason?" Tommy asked with a hint of sadness in his voice "I thought you would be the happiest for me."

"It's not that I don't want you to get married, bro. I just think it's too soon," Jason answered "You've been back with Kim for a couple months and you're engaged. How do you know that you love her as much as you think you do?"

Tommy shook his head as he stared bullets as Jason. He was truly disappointed that his friend wasn't happy for him or at least supportive. He was also questioning Tommy's love for Kimberly which really made Tommy angry.

"Jason, I love Kim and you know that I do. I can't believe you of all people have the audacity to question that. After almost losing her for good out I realized that life doesn't wait around for you," Tommy muttered "I don't want something to happen to one of us and then have the other one wondering 'what-if?' I want to marry Kim, bottom line. Now you can either be happy and support me like a good best man would or you can take a walk for all I care. If you really doubt me and my love for Kim then I don't want you at my wedding."

Jason opened his mouth to reply but all eyes turned to Adam as he quickly interjected on Tommy's behalf. He had seen firsthand the destruction of Tommy's life when Kim broke up with him.

"Jason, with all due respect, this isn't something you have much room to comment on. You weren't there when Tommy got the letter and you didn't have to deal with Kat replacing Kim," Adam interjected "I've seen Tommy go to hell and back more than any man should and never have his life get any easier. Now he finally has what he wants and I support him. And if you guys are really his friends, you should too."

Billy, Jason, Rocky, Zack and Tommy all looked at Adam in shock although Tommy did give him a small smile as well. Adam had never been one to speak up like that but his action had definitely grabbed the attention of his friends and teammates. Eventually Jason gave in and let a smile of his own form on his face.

"You're right, Adam," Jason muttered "If Tommy is happy then I should be happy for him. We all should. I'm sorry bro. If you want to get married than I'm all for it."

Zack nodded his head as did Billy and then Rocky. Tommy looked at Jason and squared him up looking quite angry. Jason flinched a little bit as Tommy stepped towards him but Jason quickly saw that Tommy's arms were wide open. Tommy gave Jason a hug as the group of six began to make their way into the kitchen.

Tommy suddenly turned around and took off down the hallway as the others looked at each other in confusion but that was quickly put aside when he came back a few seconds later with the biggest duffel bag any of them had ever seen. He set the large black bag down in the living room and told the other guys to follow him.

"I made a little trip the other day to Angel Grove to pick up some things for everyone. Hopefully you like them," Tommy said as he stuck his hands into the bag.

Tommy pulled out two helmets, one red and one blue and handed them to Rocky who smiled brightly as he looked at his original and Zeo helmets. Sitting inside the blue helmet was a gift certificate to _Bueno Italiano_ and Rocky couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks man," Rocky said as Tommy nodded his head.

He quickly dove back into the bag and pulled out three helmets, one black and two green, and gave them to Adam. Like Rocky, Adam too took a moment to admire the helmets that symbolized the three teams he served on. Inside one of the helmets was a jewel case and Adam looked at it in shock.

"Thanks, bro," Adam muttered as he twirled the case around in his hands "How did you get this?"

It was an _Eyeshine_ CD, still in the cellophane and it was autographed. Tommy laughed a little bit as he pointed a finger at himself.

"I have connections," Tommy replied with a smile as he pulled a blue helmet out and handed it to Billy.

The gifts to Adam and Rocky were material things aside from the helmets but the things for Billy, Zack and Jason held more sentimental values. Billy looked at the contents of the helmet in absolute surprise as he slowly pulled them out.

In his hand were the keys to the Radbug and a piece of the Command Center console. Billy wiped a tear away from his eye as he looked at Tommy and thanked him. He nodded his head slowly as he pulled out a black helmet and handed it to Zack.

Zack dropped the helmet quickly as it rolled over and a fake spider fell out of it. Tommy laughed as he picked up the stuffed spider, unzipped the back and handed it to Zack who took it apprehensively. Inside the spider was a gold coin which Zack instantly recognized as his Power Coin.

He had used Adam's on the mission to save Tommy because he thought his own coin had been destroyed. Apparently, Tommy had found some means to procure it and had saved it as a gift. Zack thanked Tommy as he reached into his bag for the last things.

Tommy handed Jason two helmets, one red and one black with gold trim. The current Silver Ranger nodded his head in thanks as he pulled out a small card from the red helmet. He looked at Tommy and they both laughed loudly, even though no one else understood what was going on.

Jason caught on that the others didn't understand what was so funny so he handed the card to Zack who still didn't think it was all that funny. It was the official scorecard from the first time Jason and Tommy competed against each other in a karate match. The match had ended in a draw

By the time the card got back to Jason the others had gotten up to get drinks so they didn't notice him turn it over and read the short note on the back. Slowly, Jason wiped his eyes as he looked at Tommy and smiled at the card that read, simply: _To the only guy who has ever been my equal. - Tommy_

Tommy clasped Jason's shoulder as the two shook hands before a quick hug. When the others came back a few minutes later they really took notice of what was laying around them. There were nine helmets symbolizing two generations of Rangers and three teams and they couldn't help but be proud of what they had all accomplished together. Tommy quickly noticed the somberness in the room so he grabbed a set of keys off the kitchen counter and flung them at Jason.

"Let's go," Tommy said "We can still make it to the tuxedo place on time if we hurry. We were supposed to be there thirty minutes ago and the lady I talked to is gonna be pissed if we don't show up. I already called her and told her there would be a big group coming in and to have extra man power. Connor, Ethan and Trent are probably sitting there wondering what is taking us so long."

Five sets of eyes all rolled in unison as they pushed themselves off the couches and chairs they had been occupying. Slowly, they made their way outside and into the Suburban, heading towards the mall.

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Kim had spent the better half of the day trying on wedding dresses and she wasn't making any progress. After nearly four hours in the bridal shop she was beginning to run out of patience, fast.

She didn't want everything to be traditional because, frankly, none of them were what you would view as "normal" people and they knew that so she had told everyone to pick a dress they liked as long as it fit to their color scheme. Trini, Kira, Haley, Aisha and Kim's cousin Jennifer had all found beautiful corset gowns in burnt orange, lemon yellow, powder blue, gold and vermillion red respectively but Kim and Kat were having a lot more trouble than they wanted to deal with.

The bride to be had tried on at least twenty dresses, some of which her friends liked and none of which she liked. She wanted something that would knock Tommy off his feet and she just hadn't found it yet.

Kat was hoping for the same thing and there just didn't seem to be anything in purple that she really liked. She was trying her hardest to stay positive but the lack of success was really starting to get to her. At least it was until Trini came up holding a dress that she instantly fell in love with.

It was a satin, lilac colored, A-line halter with a split front and she knew Jason would love it on her. Her mood immediately perked up as she ran into the changing room to try it on. She came out a few minutes later, modeling the dress as her friends all smiled and nodded their heads.

"That looks beautiful on you, Kat," Haley said quietly. Kim was still in the dressing room and Haley was careful not to make note of the fact that Kim was the only one without a dress now.

Kim came out a few seconds later and the girls immediately took notice of the tears in her eyes. She plopped into a chair and folded her arms across her chest as she tried not to cry.

"Kim, sweetie, what's wrong?" Trini asked softly.

"I can't find a dress, Tri. I want a dress that will knock Tommy on his ass not make me look like one," Kim muttered in reply as a lady came around the corner carrying a dress. She held it out towards Kim who looked at it apprehensively.

"We just got this one in the other day," the lady said "I think you'll really like this one, dear."

Kim rolled her eyes as she stared at the dress defiantly. The lady continued to hold it out, even though Kim wouldn't touch it, until Kat spoke up.

"Come on, Kim, just try the dress on," Kat pleaded "You're bound to find something that you like eventually."

"Well, it can't be any worse I guess," Kim grumbled as she took the white dress and headed back for the dressing rooms.

"This one better work," Aisha muttered "I love Kim but I don't know how much longer I can sit in this store. After today, I don't want to see another wedding dress until someone actually gets married."

"At least you don't have to hear everyone in the whole freaking family talk about this wedding," Jessica said with a smile.

The five other girls laughed with her even though they all were feeling the exact same way. A few minutes later, Kim came out smiling and they knew she had found "the one" which happened to be a stunning trumpet gown with beaded embroidery and a chapel train.

Trini immediately jumped out of the chair and ran towards Kimberly as the other girls followed behind her. The girls made Kim spin around and model the dress for them as they all marveled at how beautiful she looked.

After a few more minutes of modeling accompanied by "oohs" and "aahs" the girls had finally made their way to the front counter. Kim quietly pulled out her Visa card and set it on the counter, refusing to look at how much it was costing her.

They all thanked the ladies for their help and left the store in smiles as they headed for the black Chevy Tahoe that Tommy's parents had gotten them as an early wedding present. Kim opened the door to the trunk and laid her dress down carefully as the other girls did the same before making their trip to the florist.

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The guys were definitely having a much easier time than the girls were. For them it was simply a matter of being fitted and picking out a tie. Ethan and Trent were going to be ushers while the rest of the guys joined the bridal party. Everyone was going with the traditional black tuxedo except Tommy who was wearing all white, including his tie.

Unfortunately for the guys, the store didn't specialize in two and three colored ties so they were going to have to special order a black and gold tie for Zack, a red silver and gold tie for Jason, a red and blue one for Rocky and a black and green one for Adam. Billy, having only ever worn blue, was getting off lucky as were Connor, Trent and Ethan who only had worn one color as well.

One lady was trying to measure Rocky who was intentionally giving her a hard time by constantly fidgeting and moving around while the others tried their hardest not to laugh at his shenanigans.

"Tommy, this sucks," Rocky muttered "Me and Adam were looking forward to wearing the orange and blue 'Dumb and Dumber' tuxes with those big ass top hats, man."

"Oh dude, we'd be the shit in top hats," Adam replied excitedly "And the canes bro. Tommy, dude, let us have the top hats and canes please."

Rocky and Adam crawled over to Tommy on their knees as they pretended to beg him for the accessories. The other guys all shook their heads and laughed at their antics as Tommy tried to apologize quietly to the lady helping them.

Somehow, they all managed to get out of the store with all their body parts still attached because Tommy had noticed the women becoming increasingly angrier with the party due to Rocky and Adam's behavior. Tommy had paid for the rentals and he too refused to look at the total as he slipped the lady his own Visa card.

"You don't even wanna know how much it cost?" Jason asked as they exited the store.

"Nope," Tommy answered "I know it was expensive which is why this is a one-time deal. I'm never getting married again."

Tommy let out a light chuckle as the other guys eventually joined in, some, mostly Connor, were slower than others to get the joke. They all climbed into the Suburban as Tommy carefully tucked the invoice in his wallet that was marked with a pick-up date of September 23rd, exactly one month from the day.

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For the next three weeks, emotions and tempers flared as Tommy and Kim tried to plan their wedding on relatively short notice. Everyone except Jason and Kat had returned home to continue on with their normal lives so it was just the four of them trying to do everything.

Adam and Rocky had gone back to Angel Grove, having left the dojo under the care of some of their older students that they firmly trusted and hoping that it was still in one piece when they got back. Surprisingly, Aisha had decided that she wanted to be closer to Adam so she had quit her job, packed her bags and moved to Angel Grove on a whim. A week after leaving which she showed up at the dojo which shocked the hell out of Adam who had thought anything that had developed between them would be gone as soon they went their separate ways.

Billy had flown back to New York to take care of some business things before settling back down in Reefside. He had sold almost all his shares in his company along with his house and most of his cars which had allowed him to cash out at a cool 800 million and change. Being with Haley made him realize that there was more to life than just working and making money even though neither of them would never have to work another day in their life.

Zack and Trini had also decided that they were ready for a change so they sent in official letters of resignation to the Peace Corps before flying back to Angel Grove and finding jobs along with a place to live. Considering the fact that they had spent most of their time traveling, they never really had the need to spend much money on anything so they pooled everything together and made Ernie an offer for the Juice Bar. Ernie accepted under the condition that he could still be in charge of the day-to-day operations which the couple quickly agreed with.

It seemed as if the reunion was what everyone needed to make them realize what was truly important to all of them, and that was each other. Jason also quit the Peace Corps and soon found himself lined up to teach Government at Reefside High and Kat was going to teach World History thanks to Tommy and his ability to pull strings.

Tommy allowed himself to rest on the couch for a moment after a long day of planning and trying to get everything organized. Kim walked by, apparently busy with something, as Tommy called out her name and instructed her to sit by him.

"I know this hasn't been easy on either of us, Beautiful," Tommy said quietly as he pulled her close "But I want you to know that I love you no matter what and that there is no one on this planet that I would rather spend the rest of my life with."

Kim smiled as she rested her head on Tommy's shoulder and looked up at him. He bent down and softly kissed her on the lips as she returned the kiss with passion. Tommy knew where this could possibly head and something inside him told him that it wasn't the right time still.

"One more week, Beautiful," Tommy said as he pulled back "I want everything to be perfect for our first time together."

Kim nodded her head and smiled as she kissed Tommy again, this time just a small one. She allowed herself to be picked up by Tommy who carried her up the stairs as they waited excitedly for the day both of them had been dreaming of since they were teenagers.

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_You are cordially invited to the wedding of_

_Thomas James Oliver_

_and_

_Kimberly Ann Hart_

_On the twenty-third day of September in the year two-thousand and five._

_Please join them as they exchange their vows in Angel Grove, California._


	20. The Big Day

Jason pushed Tommy into a chair as he tried to make his way out of Jason's living room. For the last twenty minutes Tommy had been trying to get out of the house and Jason had managed to stop him every time.

They had been sitting around for hours, waiting on five o'clock when they had to leave for the twenty minute drive to the church. Rocky had brought along a video game system but he and Adam seemed to be the only ones who wanted to play.

Tommy was fidgeting like a mad man, constantly adjusting himself and making sure he looked presentable. His white tie hung loosely around his neck and a massive amount of nervous sweat had formed on his forehead.

Zack came out of the bathroom with a towel and tossed it to Tommy who managed to mutter a "thank you" as he wiped his brow before turning his attention to Adam and Rocky. Tommy laughed as he looked at the pair who were engaged in a game of football on the television and were clearly oblivious to everything going on around them.

"Take it to the house, baby!" Rocky yelled as his player ran into the end zone "How do you like them apples, Adam?"

"It's 42 to 14, Rocko," Adam replied "And that means there's only two things left for you, my man."

"What's that?" Rocky asked.

"The shoutin' and the poutin'," Adam answered with a smile as his player jumped over one of Rocky's defenders for a touchdown "You've got nothing on me, bro. Wax on, wax off, Daniel-san. Just like Mr. Miyagi."

Everyone but Rocky laughed out loud at Adam's comment. He was usually quiet and reserved but when it came to doing anything with Rocky he became ultra competitive and, more often than not, quite funny which helped ease the tension that Tommy was feeling.

Tommy got up, leaving Adam's comedy show as he walked into the bathroom and started to fix his tie. He came out a few minutes later, saw that it was 4:55 and took a very deep and elongated breath as he realized it was time to go.

"Come on guys, it's show time," Tommy muttered as he bent down and turned off the game.

"Hey, no fair, I just got the ball back. Besides, don't we have to wait for Billy?" Rocky asked.

"Shut up, Rocky. You were losing by 35 points anyway," Tommy answered "And no, we don't have to wait. Billy went with Haley and is meeting us at the church so let's go."

Rocky folded his arms across his chest as he looked at Tommy and pouted. Eventually he gave in and got off his seat on the couch as he followed the others to grab their jackets.

Everyone put on their jackets except Tommy who had decided he wasn't going to put it on if he had to sit down. He wanted to look as close to perfect as possible for Kimberly so he laid it down very carefully in the trunk of the Suburban making sure there was no chance for even a small wrinkle.

Jason gave him a concerned frown as Tommy pulled his head from the trunk and looked at his friend. Tommy gave him a confused look in return and Jason put his arm around Tommy's shoulder.

"What's the matter, bro? You nervous?" Jason asked.

"Terrified, bro," Tommy answered "I haven't been this scared since I asked her out on our first date. And the only reason I even did that was because you and Zack wouldn't stop bugging me to do it."

"Yeah, but if we hadn't you'd definitely be a lot less happier now, huh?" Jason shot back.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But I'd also be a lot less stressed, too," Tommy replied as he and Jason separated and got into the SUV.

The red blur of Jason's Suburban sped down the freeway going easily ninety-five miles per hour as Tommy gripped the "oh-shit" bar tightly and begged Jason to slow down. Silently, he prayed they didn't get pulled over as he noticed a highway patrol car hiding behind a bush. His prayers went unanswered though as Jason noticed flashing lights in his rearview mirror and began to pull the car over.

"Way to go dickhead," Tommy muttered as the car came to a stop "Kim's gonna kill me if we're late."

Apparently the excessive speed was enough to really scare the officer because he was walking very slowly towards the car with his gun drawn with his partner behind him. The lead officer yelled at Jason to get out of the car slowly and Jason immediately obliged. Jason stared at the man for a minute as the officer pulled off his sunglasses and did the same. The three men instantly recognized each other and the officers immediately holstered their weapons.

"Jason? What the hell are you doing out here dressed like that?" the officer asked.

"Tommy's marrying Kim today, Mr. Officer Sir," Jason answered with a smile.

"Tommy's getting married? No way. Is he in the car?" the other officer replied.

"Yeah, man, he is. So are Adam, Rocky and Zack. Hey guys, get out of the car!" Jason yelled as he turned his head back towards the SUV.

The four men slowly climbed out of the car and walked to where Jason was standing, all with their hands in the air because none of them had been able to hear the conversation Jason had been having. All at once the four guys looked at the officers and then back at each other with looks of shock on their faces.

"No shit," Tommy said "If it isn't Bulk and Skull. At least I have a decent excuse now for when Kim rips me to shreds."

The old troublemakers laughed a little bit as they walked towards the group and began shaking hands and greeting everyone. Bulk extended his hand towards Tommy as he quickly took it and smiled at the man.

"Congratulations, Tommy," Bulk muttered quietly "I always knew it would work out with you two. You guys deserve each other."

"Thanks, man," Tommy answered genuinely "Hey if you guys can manage to get off, you're more than welcome to come. It's at St. Michael's over by the Youth Center."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Tommy," Rocky interrupted with a smile "You know that cakes go flying when these two get around them."

The two officers blushed a little bit as they reminisced about every piece of food that they had managed to send into the air in high school.

"Thanks for the invite, Tommy. We really appreciate it," Bulk answered "But we're on duty for another three hours. Sorry, man."

"No worries, bro. Just thought I'd offer," Tommy replied "If you change your mind, the reception is gonna be in the banquet hall at the Marriott off the freeway."

"Hey, uh, I hate to break up the reunion but Tommy's gotta get married like, now," Adam interjected "What do you guys say you let us go with a warning for old time's sake?"

"What do you think, Bulky? Should we let them go?" Skull asked his partner with a grin.

"I don't know, Skull. They were going ninety-five in a sixty-five," Bulk replied with a smile of his own "But I think this one time we can let it go. We owe you at least one considering how many times you saved our butts when we were kids."

The five men all looked at each other with looks of shock mixed with confusion. Tommy looked back at the Bulk to question him but Skull stepped in and stopped him.

"Don't worry, guys. We've known for a long time. Half the school thought it was you guys because when you disappeared, the Power Rangers appeared along with the whole color thing" Skull interjected "We really figured it our when you guys all left and the Power Rangers disappeared. But like I said, don't worry. You're secret is safe with us guys."

Tommy looked at his teammates and smiled a little bit as they all looked at the two officers and nodded their heads. Bulk and Skull shook hands and said their goodbyes, remembering to congratulate Tommy once more before getting back in the their patrol car and driving off.

"Shit, that was a close one," Zack muttered "We better get going or we're gonna be late. We can still make it on time if Jason hurr…"

Four sets of eyes all turned to Zack which caused him to stop talking. The glares all said that Jason wasn't going to be hurrying anywhere anymore. They all climbed back into the Suburban as Jason merged back onto the freeway and headed for the church.

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Trini sat with Kim alone in the small office that had been given to her as a waiting area and dressing room. Kim was starting to get nervous and Trini was doing her best to try and calm her down. Like Tommy, Kim also fidgeted when she was nervous and Trini was trying not to laugh at her nervous twitches.

"Kim, sweetheart, you need to calm down, okay?" Trini said "Everything is going to be fine. You love Tommy, Tommy loves you and in twenty minutes you're going to be marrying him."

"I know, Trini, but I can't help being nervous," Kim muttered "What if he doesn't like how I look or something goes wrong? What if he gets cold feet and runs out on me?"

"You know that that's not going to happen. You look gorgeous and Tommy will love it," Trini answered "And he won't run out on you either. He loves you more than you will ever understand. You should have seen him when all that stuff happened with you. He was a nervous wreck and completely inconsolable without you."

Kim tried to smile a little bit at Trini's recollection of the past months but thinking about what she had done only made her upset. Trini laughed a little bit as she looked through the small window and saw the five men all come running into the foyer of the church in one big cluster.

Trini stood up and gave Kim a hug as she again reassured her that everything was going to be fine. Kim smiled and nodded to her as her Maid of Honor slipped out of the door and closed it quietly behind her.

"What took you guys so long?" Trini asked as she walked up to the group of men who had just found their female counterparts.

"Sorry, Tri," Zack answered "We got pulled over on the freeway. Luckily it was Bulk and Skull and they let us go with a warning."

Zack winked at Trini as he wrapped his arms around her and puller her in tightly, softly kissing her on the forehead. Rocky bent over and made fake vomiting noises as everyone but Zack and Trini started to laugh at his actions. Tommy quickly said his goodbyes to everyone as he made his way into the church, heading for the altar.

"Congrats, Dr. O," Trent muttered as he stopped in front of him and Connor.

"Yeah, we're all super stoked for you," Ethan added.

"Thanks guys," Tommy replied as he shook their hands and continued walking towards the altar.

He was stopped at least six times on his way to the altar by the parents of all his friends. Everyone wanted to offer their congratulations and tell him how happy they were for him. He did his best to thank everyone graciously as he tried to get to the altar.

Out of nowhere he felt a hand reach out and grab his own as he spun around and looked down at his mom. Somehow, he managed to miss his own parents on his way to get married. He bent down and gave them both hugs before finally making it to his destination after many failed attempts.

Father McMurphy shook Tommy's hand as he smiled at the white haired man. Tommy was trying hard to calm himself down but his heart was pounding and the holy man could tell he was nervous.

"Don't worry, young man. Everything is going to be fine," McMurphy said calmly as Tommy nodded his head softly.

Suddenly, some music began to play and Tommy instantly spun around as Connor and Kira came through the door arm-in-arm. Tommy smiled at his protégés as they reached the altar and kissed before going their separate ways.

Rocky and Kim's cousin Jennifer came out next and the crowd all turned their attention towards them. They reached the altar a few seconds later and Rocky gave her a hug as he made his way to stand next to Connor.

Adam and Aisha were next and they followed the same pattern as Rocky and Jennifer as Billy and Haley followed them. Billy kissed Haley softly before taking their spots next to Adam and Aisha.

Zack and Trini followed them as Zack stood next to Billy and Trini stood next to Aisha with a gap in between them for Kat who was still in the foyer with Jason.

"You look beautiful, sweetie," Jason said as he bent down and kissed her before entering the church. Kat gave him a smile as the crowd all gasped at how gorgeous she looked. Jason couldn't help but beam as he took his spot in between Zack and Tommy while Kat stood next to Aisha and Trini.

The music cut off as Tommy stared nervously at the open doors and waited for Kim to come through them. His wait was short lived as the Bridal March began to play and Kim, on the arm of her father, slowly came into view. Tommy smiled brightly at Kim who already had tears in her eyes. They reached the altar and Kim's dad bent down to give her a hug before looking at Tommy.

"She's all yours, son," he muttered "Take care of her for me."

"I will, sir," Tommy replied as he shook his hand "You have my word."

Tommy took Kim's hands in his own as the volume of the music slowly began to lower until it had completely disappeared. Father McMurphy cleared his throat loudly signifying that the wedding was beginning and for everyone to be quiet.

"We are gathered here today to unite Thomas Oliver and Kimberly Ann Hart in holy matrimony," he began "If anyone has any objections to their marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Tommy and Kim both jerked their heads toward the crowd at the same time which caused a small chorus of laughter to echo throughout the church. After a few seconds the priest determined that no one had any objections and he continued by asking for the rings which Jason and Trini gave to him as he held them up for everyone to see.

"These rings represent a circle which is never ending like the love these two young people share for each other," he said "You will have your quarrels and disagreements as all couples do but the love the two of you share will get you through anything. Now, I understand that you have each written your own set of vows. Thomas, you may begin."

Tommy smiled at the priest as he concentrated on remembering the vows he had written a few days before. He had promised himself that he was going to make it through without reading anything but he had a piece of paper tucked in his pocket just in case.

"Kimberly Ann Hart, you truly are my everything. We have had our ups and downs and bumps in the roads or whatever you want to call them but I always knew that this day would come because we deserve this after everything we've been through together," Tommy began "You have been my girlfriend, my best friend, my worst enemy, my heartache and everything else two people can be. But more that anything, you have been the only person who has ever made me feel complete. You make me a better person every day of my life, Beautiful and as your husband I promise to always love and cherish you forever. I love you Kimberly and I always will."

Tommy smiled at Kim as he bent down and wiped the tears from her face. She smiled back and took a deep breath as she tried to compose herself before reciting her vows.

"Thomas Oliver, the day you moved to Angel Grove and came into my life was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know this journey hasn't been easy but it only proves that true love can indeed conquer anything life throws at it," Kim said softly "You have been my mighty dragon, my powerful tiger and my cunning falcon but above all that you have been the one person who has always made me feel special and safe. Unlike you, I wasn't sure that we would make it to this day but you always believed in us even when no one else did. We have been through more stuff than any couple should ever have to deal with but I can stand here today and honestly say that I am glad we did because we wouldn't be the people we are today without that and I really like who we've become. As your wife I promise to respect you, love you and be there for you through everything. I love you Tommy, forever."

Now it was Kim's turn to wipe tears from Tommy's face as. They both looked at the priest and nodded their heads which told him to continue the service.

"Thomas, repeat after me," Father McMurphy said as he handed Tommy the ring. "With this ring..."

"With this ring..." Tommy replied,

"I thee wed," the holy man continued.

"I thee wed," Tommy finished, slipping the gold band on to Kimberly's finger.

"Kimberly, repeat after me. With this ring," the priest said, handing Kimberly Tommy's ring.

"With this ring," Kim muttered through tears

"I thee wed," the priest finished.

"I thee wed," Kim finished, as she tried to stop her arm from shaking before slipping the ring on Tommy's finger.

"Then, by the power invested in my by God and the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Thomas, you may kiss your bride," the priest said.

Tommy leaned forward as he cupped her cheeks in his hands and gave her the softest and most passionate kiss he could come up with.

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, for the very first time, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Oliver," the priest finished.

The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause as Tommy and Kim turned to face them. Everyone stood up and smiled at the newly married couple as they made their way back down the aisle, with their friends following behind them.

After taking an absurd amount of pictures the couple eventually made their way outside where Jason was waiting to douse Tommy with bird seed. The crowd laughed as Tommy swatted at his hair, trying to knock the seeds out of it.

A limousine was waiting outside for Tommy and Kimberly and they slowly climbed into it for their first ride together as a married couple. Words could not explain how happy the two of them were at that moment.

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The group of eighteen which now included Ethan and Trent all sat together at a long table facing the crowd as everyone ate their dinner in the banquet hall. Zack's brother Curtis was in the corner playing music when Jason stood up and clinked his fork against his glass. Curtis stopped the music as Jason loudly cleared his throat trying to get everyone to settle down before picking up a microphone.

"For those of you who don't know me, my name is Jason Scott and I have the honor and privilege to call these two people some of my best friends. I have known Kim since we were little and played in the sandbox together. Tommy and I competed in a karate tournament when we were sixteen and have been the best of friends ever since," Jason began "This couple you are looking at symbolizes what true love really is all about. They have been to hell and back for and with each other more times than I care to count. Everyone in this room should be proud of the relationship you guys have because I know I am. So, to the newlyweds, I say congratulations and may the power protect you, always."

No one but those who had been Rangers knew what the last comment meant but that was okay for the teammates who also knew that they shared something special that no one else could experience. Tommy and Kim both smiled as they stood up and gave hugged Jason. A chorus of laughter broke out between the three of them when they noticed that they all had tears in their eyes.

"Thank you, Jason. That was beautiful," Kim said quietly as Tommy nodded his head in agreement.

After another half hour Zack got up from the table and jogged to where Curtis was standing and he began to whisper to him. Curtis nodded his head as turned off the music, pulled out a microphone and handed it to Zack who tapped on it to get everyone's attention.

"Can we please have the newlyweds make their way to the dance floor, now," he said as Tommy got up and extended his hand for Kim to take "It's time for your first dance as a married couple so come on up here so everyone can stare at you while you two try to not look awkward."

Tommy glared at Zack as he put his arms around Kim's waist who wrapped her own arms around his neck. Curtis found the song he was looking for on his computer and began to play "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper as the newlyweds started to dance.

_Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,  
And think of you  
Caught up in circles confusion  
Is nothing new  
Flashback - warm nights  
Almost left behind  
Suitcases of memories,  
Time after_

_Sometimes you picture me  
I'm walking too far ahead  
You're calling to me, I can't hear  
What you've said  
Then you say go slow  
I fall behind  
The second hand unwinds_

_If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting  
Time after time_

_After my picture fades and darkness has  
Turned to gray  
Watching through windows you're wondering  
If I'm OK  
Secrets stolen from deep inside  
The drum beats out of time_

_If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting  
Time after time_

_You said go slow  
I fall behind  
The second hand unwinds_

_If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting  
Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time  
_

Tommy smiled brightly at Kim as the dance finished and he bent down to kiss her. Just as their lips met, "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith came on and everyone else made their way onto the dance floor.

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

By midnight almost everyone had dispersed and Curtis was in the process of packing everything up for while the hotel's cleanup crew began the daunting task of picking up after almost 200 people.

Jason and Kat were the last to leave and had offered to take all the gifts back to their house so Tommy and Kim could pick them up whenever it was convenient which both couples knew could be awhile. Hugs, goodbyes and thanks were shared by the four of them leaving Kim and Tommy alone in the nearly vacant banquet hall.

Tommy gently wrapped his arm around Kimberly's waist as they made their way out of the room. Kim was completely caught off guard when Tommy quickly swept her off her feet and carried her into the elevator.

As they reached their room Tommy fumbled with the door key in his pocket while Kim giggled at him until he got it open. After twelve years of love and friendship the newlyweds made their marriage official as they made love to each other for the first time. For Tommy and Kim, who had been through hell and high water for each other, it was perfect.


	21. End of an Era

_Seven months later…_

Reefside had been silent since the Rangers defeated Dai Satan in the worst battle any of them had ever seen. Mesogog was also long gone and everyone seemed to be enjoying the downtime except the teenagers who were now only two months away from graduating and were putting the finishing touches on their after high school plans.

Connor had gotten an offer for a soccer scholarship at UCLA which he was tentative to accept. He and Kira had been together for almost a year and he loved her more everyday so the potential for separation scared him. But that was all put aside when he found out that Kira had been offered a partial music scholarship to attend UCLA as well. For once in their lives, everything was working out perfectly and the pair couldn't have been happier.

Ethan had been accepted at Stanford, MIT and Harvard before settling on MIT. The move to Massachusetts was going to be tough on him and his still fairly new friendships with his teammates but he was determined to make it work. There would be plenty of holidays to see them, he decided.

Trent had been accepted at the New York Academy of Art and was moving at the end of July, just three and a half months away. He had also sent in some drawings to a particularly popular comic book company to see if he could possibly get an internship, just hoping to get his foot in the door.

The people at the comic company were so impressed with Trent's work that they gave him an internship, offered to pay for his schooling and guaranteed him a job when he graduated college. Initially they had wanted to hire him right off the bat but the former White Ranger had insisted on finishing school, telling them that his science teacher would kill him if he didn't which the big wigs of the company didn't seem to understand.

In his spot in his oversized black leather recliner, Tommy rocked back and forth as he reflected on the last two-plus years of his life. He had done so many things like creating new Rangers, becoming a Ranger again, saving the world at least thirty times and most importantly, reconciling with, and marrying, Kim.

He allowed the thoughts of his four young protégés to enter his mind as he reminisced on what they had done together. Tears slowly started to fill his eyes when he realized that, in a little over three months, the young people he had grown so close to, that had become another addition to his always growing family of Rangers, would all be going their separate ways.

Kim came into the room and sat on Tommy's lap and leaned back as he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her. She buried her face against his neck and inhaled his scent as she went to work on his neck. Tommy pushed her back a little and made her stop as he explained that a hickey would be unacceptable for him at school. Kim nodded her head in understanding as she went back to his lips before he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

_Seven weeks later…_

In five different spots in Reefside, all at the same time, five different clocks all turned to 6:00 as five sets of eyes all snapped open and their alarm clocks blared simultaneously.

Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira all woke up with excitement at the prospect of the day ahead of them. In one week they would be graduating and it was time for their senior picnic, an annual tradition at Reefside High for all graduating seniors.

Tommy rolled over in bed to find that the side of the bed that Kim occupied was currently empty. He groaned a little bit as he forced himself to wake up, pushing himself out of bed and heading to the bathroom which he found was locked. The noises of a sick Kim floated into the room through the door as he knocked on it and called her name.

"Kim, sweetie, are you okay?" he asked waiting for a reply that didn't come "Kim, come on. Open up in there. Is something wrong?"

He heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on as he stood outside the bathroom waiting for Kim. The door slowly opened and an embarrassed Kim stepped out as she dabbed at her mouth with a towel.

"I'm fine. My stomach's just a little upset," she muttered as she walked past him "I already took a shower earlier so you should have hot water now. You don't wanna be late for school."

"Most of my classes are seniors anyway so they're going to be gone at the picnic. I only have one class to teach today, the rest is all getting grades caught up before finals," he replied as he walked past her and into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Tommy let out an exasperated breath as the hot water hit him and started to relax his tense muscles. Ten minutes later he got out and dried off before slipping on a pair of blue jeans and a black polo along with his glasses before heading for the kitchen.

As he entered the kitchen he saw Kim sitting at the table sipping a cup of coffee and he quickly went to her side as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. She looked up at him and smiled as she pointed to the plate set for Tommy with eggs, toast and bacon. Apparently Kim had started cooking before he even woke up.

"What are you doing today?" Tommy asked.

"Well, I've got some early afternoon classes to teach at the school before you come in for the couples self-defense class with me at five," Kim replied "I was thinking I might go for a run and maybe do a little shopping before all that, though."

Tommy smiled at her as he chewed his food and rubbed the top of her hand which he held in his toast-free hand. After finishing his breakfast he went into the kitchen and cleaned up the small mess that Kim had made during the cooking process.

He picked his glasses up off the coffee table and slipped them on before bending down to kiss Kim goodbye. He made it all the way to his Jeep before he realized he left his keys inside and Kim was waiting in the doorway holding them for him as he sprinted up the walkway and thanked her before kissing her again and taking off.

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The four teenaged Rangers all sat together on an outstretched blanket as they chatted and picked at the food that had been barbecued for them. Kira was picking at her guitar and Connor leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, catching her off guard a little bit. She smiled at him and kissed him back while Ethan and Trent made fake vomiting noises.

Kira tried not to giggle as Connor's cheeks turned bright red. Ethan and Trent each reached over and slapped Connor lightly on the shoulder as they showed that there were no hard feelings.

Connor nodded his head and smiled as he put his hand behind his back, grabbing the water gun he had hidden and began spraying the two teens with it while Kira burst into fits of laughter. Ethan and Trent managed to roll out of the way eventually and took off running, not coming back until they were sure Connor was out of water.

When they got back to their friends the three young men declared a truce as they sat back down and continued their conversations. About twenty minutes later Ethan and Trent looked at each other, nodded, smiled and dove for Connor. Ethan hoisted him over his shoulder as Trent helped him carry the Red Ranger towards the pool that was around the corner.

Connor was begging for the two to put him down and it only got louder as he saw the pool come into sight. Kira was caught between a rock and a hard place because she felt bad for Connor but Ethan and Trent were putting on an entertaining show. Deciding that it would probably be best to save Connor, she took off running towards the pool to catch them.

"Guys, stop!" Kira yelled just before they threw Connor into the pool "Put him down. You know how he gets when he's wet."

Ethan and Trent looked at each other and smiled as they turned their heads towards Kira and smiled at her evilly.

"We know," Ethan answered "And we can't wait to see it."

"Bon voyage, amigo," Trent replied as they tossed Connor high into the air and laughed as he landed in the water flat on his belly with a smack.

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Back at the house, Kim paced nervously back and forth as she twirled the small cardboard box in her hands. She had gone to the drug store right after Tommy had left and purchased a home pregnancy kit. Morning sickness had been attacking her for the past couple days and she was feeling increasingly tired earlier in the day and this was the only thing that would explain it all.

She went into the bathroom and locked the door even though no one else was home besides her. As she followed the instructions on the box she took a deep breath as she began to wait for the results.

A little while later Kim's hands were shaking as she held the small blue stick in her hands, reading the results of the home pregnancy test. Tears started to fill her eyes as she realized that she was indeed pregnant. She had to tell Tommy as soon as possible and also make an appointment with her OB/GYN for official conformation.

She ran into her room as she grabbed her car keys and took off for her car. Tommy had third period off and if she hurried she could make it their to talk to him. She knew it probably wasn't a good idea to go to the school to talk to him but she felt like he would want to know as soon as she did.

The small Honda Accord that she had recently purchased pulled into a parking spot marked "Visitor" as she climbed out of the car and headed for the office. She smiled at the secretary and explained that she was Dr. Oliver's wife and had an urgent message for him.

"Is it urgent enough to interrupt him during school hours?" the middle aged lady asked as Kim nodded her head that it was "Sign and date this page here and put on one of these badges."

Kim smiled and thanked the lady as she put the sticker on her shirt and headed towards Tommy's classroom. She pushed the door open and peaked her head in to find Tommy sitting alone at his desk typing away on his computer. He heard the door creak and signaled for Kim to come in as he got up and greeted her.

"Hey, Beautiful," he said as he bent down and kissed her softly "What brings you down here?"

"There's something I need to talk to you about," she said nervously "I don't know how you're going to react to this but I hope it's what I'm expecting."

"Kim, what's going on? What happened? Is it bad?" Tommy asked curiously as Kim shook her head that it wasn't.

"It's not bad, Tommy. I'm…," Kim began and then stopped before blurting "TOMMYIMPREGNANT!"

"Huh?" he answered confused "You're what?"

"I'm pregnant, Tommy," she replied softly "We're gonna have a baby, Handsome. How does that sound to you?"

Tommy beamed proudly as his hand creeped towards Kim's abdomen area and rested there gently. He bent down and kissed her again and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"That's great, Kim. This is amazing," he muttered "I can't believe we're going to have our own little family now. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Tommy," she answered "I'm so glad you're happy. I was afraid you weren't going to like the news."

"How could I not like it?" he asked "This is one of the best things that's ever happened to me…to us. This is what I dreamed our future would be like when we were kids. It's everything I ever wanted."

"Well, I still have to see my doctor to confirm that I'm pregnant so don't get too excited until we know for sure. But the home test said I was and they're pretty accurate from what I've heard," she replied with a smile.

"Do you think the classes are still okay to teach and participate in?" he asked with a look of concern.

"I'm sure I'll be fine for a day or two until I can see my doctor, but I'll be careful, I promise," she answered.

Tommy held onto her and smiled until the bell rang, signifying the end of third period and the first students began to trickle in just as Tommy kissed Kim goodbye. The handful of sophomores giggled a little bit at their teacher and his wife but Kim just smiled at them as she walked out the door on Cloud Nine, turning around only to wink at Tommy before leaving his classroom for their dojo/gymnastics school.

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As Tommy's sixth and final period ended, he saw the yellow school buses carrying the seniors pull up in front of the school. He smiled to himself as Connor, Kira, Ethan and Trent all stepped off their bus with their arms around each other.

"Just like old times, huh?" Jason asked from the doorway with Kat as Tommy turned around and nodded towards them.

Jason's last government class had just ended as well so he had decided to pay Tommy a visit with Kat.

"Yeah, man, it is," Tommy answered quietly "I feel like I'm being completely selfish but I don't want them to leave. They're family now, even if they are ten years younger than all of us."

"I know, bro. But we all had to leave at some point when we were their age too and now look at us. We went our separate way but a few years later we're all back together just like when we were kids," Jason replied "You did a great job with them and you should be proud of yourself. I know Zordon's proud of you too, wherever he is."

"I hope you're right, man," Tommy muttered "Let's get out of here and go to the dojo. Kim has something that I think she wants to tell you guys."

Jason nodded his head and Tommy turned off his computer and picked up his briefcase as the trio walked out of his classroom.

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Kim was helping one of her students in her attempt at a back handspring when Tommy, Jason and Kat walked in together. She looked at the three and waved, hoping that Tommy hadn't already spilled the beans. They stood off to the side and waited for Kim's class to end before approaching her.

"Hey gorgeous," Tommy said with a smile as he kissed Kim "How was class?"

"It was good. I'm a little tired though," she replied as she gave Jason a hug "How are you, Jase? To what do I owe this meeting with you oh-great-one?"

"Well, we have some news for you guys that we wanted to deliver in person but Tommy told me you had something to tell us as well," Jason answered with a smile "So what's the deal, Kim?"

"How does being a godfather sound to you?" Kim asked quietly as Jason's mouth opened wide.

"You're kidding, right? You guys are gonna have a kid? That's awesome," Jason replied "Have you told anyone else?"

"No, we were going to wait until everyone was together but that's okay. What's your news?" Tommy asked.

"Well, I don't know if our news lives up to that," Jason replied as he lifted Kat's hand for them to see "But we're getting married in May."

"Guys, that's great news," Tommy said as he clasped Jason on the shoulder and gave Kat a hug.

"Yeah guys, congratulations are definitely in order," Kim added and gave Jason and Kat both hugs.

"Thanks guys," Kat answered "We're really excited for all of this."

The four friends chatted for a few more minutes until it was time for Tommy and Kim to begin teaching their class. Jason and Kat waved goodbye to their friends as Tommy and Kim took their place at the front of the group.

"Welcome, everyone," Tommy said as he looked at Kim and smiled "Today we're going to discuss the importance of protecting those you care about most."

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The next week flew by and finals came way too quickly for the teenagers as well as their teachers. The teens had been lucky and had gotten Jason for Government and Tommy for Earth Science so they knew at least two of their teachers would go somewhat easy on them but they still had English and Math to worry about.

Ethan had insisted on study groups which Connor initially resisted even though the group work ended up helping him to pass his Algebra final with a "B." Friday afternoon arrived which meant it was time for the graduation ceremony.

The class of 2006 was separated alphabetically as they all sat in fold-out chairs that lined the football field. A small stage had been erected on the fifty-yard line with chairs occupied by the superintendent, Principal Adams who had replaced Randall after her "disappearance" and Tommy who was fidgeting with his tie under his gown. Ethan also occupied a seat on the stage as the valedictorian of their class. Slowly, Mr. Adams got up from his chair and walked to the podium.

"Good evening students, faculty, family and friends. We are here on this day, August 12th to celebrate the hard work of Reefside High School's newest graduating class," he began "It has been a long four years for these young people and I am proud to announce Ethan James as this year's valedictorian."

The crowd that filled nearly all of the bleachers burst into applause along with the students as Ethan made his way to the podium. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and set it on the stand as he prepared to read it.

"Well guys, we did it. We finally made it here after four years of prison…I mean school," he began as some laughs escaped the students and faculty "I stand here today as your valedictorian and look at our class with pride. We have accomplished many great things together and you all deserve this day. As a class, I feel we owe a great deal of thanks to the teachers who have put up with us these last four years. I know it wasn't easy but you have helped mold us into who we are today. So to everyone who has helped us on our way, I say thank you and to the students who share this day with me, I say congratulations."

Ethan stepped down from the podium and shook the hands of the faculty members on the stage before he took his place in the vacant seat in the student body that was reserved for him. Tommy looked into the cheering crowd and caught the glimpse of a pink sun dress and saw that Kimberly was wiping tears away from her face.

Jason and Kat sat on either side of her and they beamed proudly at the group of people they had been given the privilege to teach in the past year. Then Tommy stood up and made his way to the podium, pulling out a speech of his own as the crowd died down.

"For those of you who don't know me, which means you were lucky enough to not have me as a teacher, my name is Tommy Oliver and I teach science classes here at Reefside," he began as the crowd laughed a little "Over the past few years it has been an honor and a privilege to work with these young people, some of whom I look at as my own kids."

The four teens all shot winks at him as he smiled back at them before continuing with his speech.

"It has been a long and tough road for most of you to get to this point," he continued "But no one said it was going to be easy, just that it was worth it which I know you all understand now. As a teacher at this school I can look at the students sitting here and tell you with certainty that this class is going to do amazing things."

The crowd applauded lightly as he went back to his seat and smoothed out his gown. Principal Adams got up again and approached the podium with a list of names for the graduating class. He began to call their names and they all made their way to get their diplomas before returning to their seats.

"It is an honor to introduce to you, for the first time, Reefside's graduating class of two-thousand and six!" he said into the microphone.

They all stood up at one time and threw their hats into the air as the crowd burst into applause. Slowly, the group of students began to make their way back to the "Senior Square" to greet their friends and relatives. Eventually the four veteran Rangers managed to round up the four teenaged Rangers in a small area away from the crowd where no one could hear them.

"I just…we just want you all to know how proud we are of you guys," Tommy began "You all have turned out better than any of us could have predicted and it's truly been an honor to teach you as well as 'work' with you. You guys couldn't have done better if you tried."

The four teens were all smiles as they thanked their teachers and teammates with hugs.

"Tommy and I made something for each of you but they're at the house," Kim said "Swing by tomorrow afternoon and we'll give them to you."

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_Okay so I know I crammed a lot of different things into just one chapter but I didn't want to make each little event a whole chapter on its own. Sadly, there is only going to be one more chapter which is an epilogue. I hope you all have enjoyed this story because I have enjoyed writing it and entertaining you all. Thanks for all your encouragement and support through the story._


	22. Epilogue, Where Are They Now?

_November 2006, five months after graduation…_

Connor tossed and turned in the king sized bed that occupied the better part of the bedroom in the small apartment that he shared with Kira a few miles away from UCLA's main campus. He had been trying to sleep for hours but the rest he desired wouldn't come for some reason.

Normally, Kira would be there next to him which always made things easier for the young man who was struggling with being away from home but she had had a family emergency and had to fly to Chicago a few days earlier, leaving Connor alone in Los Angeles. He had really wanted to go with her to Illinois but she insisted that he stay behind and keep up with school so he obliged and did what she requested even though it was killing him to be away from her for so long.

Frustrated with his inability to get to sleep, he climbed out of the bed and walked through the living room and into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water before sitting down on the couch and turning on the television. He picked up a book with a red cloth cover off the coffee table and smiled to himself as he opened it. Inscribed on the inside were the words _To Connor, Memories never die. For in our hearts, they'll always live and never say goodbye. May the power protect you forever. Love, Tommy and Kim._

Slowly he opened the book, the same book they had given to Kira, Ethan and Trent with different covers of course, and began to reminisce on the last two years and the time he had spent with everyone in Reefside. There were all kinds of pictures of him along with his teammates and friends in places like the Cyberspace Café, the park and Tommy's backyard. Tommy and Kim had made the book for him and had given it to him the day after graduation.

Tears started to form in his eyes as he saw a picture of everyone, including Haley and the veteran Rangers, all sitting together at the head table for Tommy's wedding. It was a candid picture, taken by Tommy's mom and Connor was in the process of having a piece of cake fed to him by Kira.

He hadn't heard from Tommy since he left for school so he decided to send him an email as he pulled out his laptop and powered it up. Tears continued to fall down his face as his fingers flew across the keyboard feverishly.

_Dear Dr. O,_

_Hey, it's been awhile since we've talked and I just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing and how everything's going back home. Hopefully you guys haven't gone and replaced us with some new kids or anything. LOL. How's Kim doing? I hope everything is going okay with the pregnancy and everything. You need to keep me updated more often and let Kira and I know how she's doing. We're really excited and happy for you and Kim. Jason sent me an email a couple days ago and asked if I could manage to get away for a couple days in May for his wedding and I'm praying that I can. It would really be great to see all the old gang again especially you, Kim and Jason. By the way, how's school going? Any crazy monster stories for me? LOL. I never thought I would miss everything so much but now I see what you were saying about how hard it is to leave this life. It's been tough being out here and not being the most popular guy on campus anymore but Kira has really helped keep me going. She's doing great in the music program here and she really misses you guys a lot. Her grandma passed away a few days ago after battling cancer for years and she left for Chicago on Monday. I know it would really mean a lot to her, and me as well, if you could send her an email or call her just to let her know you and Kim are thinking about her. Now that I look back on everything I'm so grateful for everything you did for me and for the team. I am a better person today because of the couple years I spent with all of you back in Reefside. I miss you all so much and I can't wait for the winter holidays so I can come back and see everyone. Ethan's going to fly in from Boston on December 3rd and Trent said he's going to try his hardest to come home too. It'll be just like old times. Until then, take care and may the power protect you._

_Connor_

He went back over the email, reading it a couple more times and carefully checking for any mistakes before sending it to Tommy. With a sense of accomplishment, he clicked the "send" button and closed his computer with a smile on his face. Slowly, he got off the couch and went back into the bedroom, climbing into bed, finally able to sleep.

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_January 2007_

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of_

_Jason Lee Scott_

_And_

_Katherine Hillard_

_At 7:00 pm on May 7th_

_At St. Christopher's Church in Reefside, CA_

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_June 6th 2007_

Ethan fumbled with his keys and the stack of books cradled under his arm as he tried to let himself into his apartment. When he opened the door he noticed a small pile of envelopes on the floor that had obviously been passed through the mail slot. He went into his bedroom, threw his books on the bed and came back out, picking up the mail and fishing through it.

Most of it was junk mail or for his roommate which he was either discarding into the trash can or setting aside and he almost tossed out something important but his eyes caught the return address just before he threw it away. It was a letter from Tommy and Kim.

Eagerly and excitedly, he ripped the envelope open and pulled out the card inside of it. He smiled brightly when he opened it and saw a picture inside. The picture showed Kim laying in a hospital bed cradling a baby with Tommy by her side and holding a baby of his own. There was also another picture, this time a close up of both babies who looked just like their parents.

_Tommy and Kimberly Oliver are proud to announce the birth of their first children, Christina Katherine Oliver who was born at 9:57am on the twenty-fourth of May at 6 lbs. and 10 oz. and Michael Jason Oliver who was born at 10:13 on the twenty-fourth of May at 7 lbs and 9 oz._

It was a pre-typed message that was probably printed on all the cards but the former Blue Ranger didn't care. He had no idea that Tommy and Kim were expecting twins and the prospect of two little Oliver children running around their house and wreaking havoc made him laugh loudly. Instinctively he reached for his backpack and grabbed his cell phone out of it but saw that he was already receiving a call from Trent.

"Did you get the letter?" Ethan asked without even saying hello.

"Yeah, twins. Crazy huh?" Trent replied.

"Well, at least we know that the future of Earth is in good hands 'cause you know those kids are going to end up being Rangers one day," Ethan answered with a laugh that Trent reciprocated "So, how are things with you?"

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_January 2008, Letter from Trent to Tommy and Kimberly_

_Hey guys,_

_How is everything back home? How are the kids? I bet they've gotten a lot bigger since I saw them a few months ago. Sorry I couldn't come home for the winter break. I really wanted to but this internship takes up a lot of time and I'm doing my best to keep my promise to you that I would finish school._

_I still think about you all and I miss you guys a lot but the scrapbook you guys made for me helps a lot when I think about home. Dr. O, I've never told you this before but you're the closest thing to a father I've ever had. You and Kim took me in and cared about me when no one else did and I really love you guys for that._

_I hope all the others are doing well and say hi to the kids for me even though they have no idea who I am. Haha. Hopefully I can get out of this place in time for the summer holidays because I really want to see everyone again. Hope all is well. Take care._

_Sincerely,_

_Trent_

----------------------_--------------------------------------------------_------------------------------------------------------------------------

_August 2009_

The now twenty-one year old Kira Ford sat on a stool in the sold out Hollywood Bowl with her acoustic guitar around her shoulder, waiting for the lights to come on and the curtains to draw back, revealing the 17,000 or so people who were there to see her perform. She had signed a record deal and had left college at the end of her sophomore year to pursue her music career.

As the curtains opened and the lights came on dimly, the spotlight hit her and she smiled at the front row that held every Ranger she knew from Tommy and Kim to Ethan and Trent who had seen her perform in New York and promised her he would be there with everyone else when she came to town.

The soothing sound of the acoustic set, which soon turned into a much faster tempo of rock music echoed off the walls of the arena as 17,000 enthusiastic fans sang her every one of her songs right back to her. After a little over an hour of performing she thanked them and ran backstage as the crowd chanted loudly, begging her for an encore. She stayed backstage for a few minutes to get a drink of water and catch her breath a little before running back out on stage to give them what they wanted.

"Alright, Los Angeles, so I guess you want more, huh?" she asked even though she knew what the answer would be "Then let's rock and roll one more time."

The crowd, especially Connor, erupted into applause as she plugged in her electric guitar back in and began strumming as she started to sing one last time for them.

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_Three days later…_

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Kira?" Connor asked as they stood together at the airport. He had on a red, white and blue sweat suit and was carrying a matching duffel bag emblazoned with the letters "Team USA Soccer" all over it.

"Absolutely, Connor. These are the Olympics were talking about here. You stuck with me through my concert tour now it's my turn to stick with you," she began "Besides, it's just training and it's only for a few months. We have the rest of our lives in front of us so I think I can deal for a few months. This is what you love and I'm going to support your passion just like you support mine, okay?"

"The Galaxy called today and they want to sign me to a multi-year deal," he replied "What do you think about dating a professional soccer player?"

"I think that you should follow your heart and if your heart says to do it then what I think doesn't matter," she answered "I don't care what you do because, at the end of the day, I'm still going to love you regardless."

Connor smiled and nodded as he bent down to kiss her while his teammates cheered loudly for him. His cheeks turned bright red and he tried to pull away but Kira wouldn't let him. She grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him with passion as the cheers turned into groans until everyone turned away.

"I gotta go, Kira," he said as his teammates yelled at him that it was time to board the plane "I love you and I'll be back soon. I'll call you the second we land in New York, I promise."

"You better," she replied "And I love you too. Make sure you say hi to Trent for me 'cause I know you'll see him at least once up there."

Connor nodded and said okay as he kissed her one last time before running through the airport to catch up with his teammates.

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_October 2010_

Zack looked at Trini with a smile on his face as he held her hands and said the words "I Do" in front of all their friends and families. Tears were streaming down her face and he bent down to gently wipe them away before kissing her for the first time as husband and wife.

Their sixth-month old son Jacob was in the arms of Trini's mom, sleeping soundly right through the service as the couple had prayed he would. Trini squeezed Zack's hand tightly as they made their way off the altar with all their friends in the wedding party following behind them.

To Jason, who was walking directly behind the couple with Kat on his arm, it seemed as if all his old teammates were already married or were planning on getting married. It made him realize that they all were indeed getting older, a thought he had tried to fight off for years.

Billy had proposed to Haley and Adam was seriously considering doing the same with Aisha. The former Black and Yellow Rangers had moved in together in June and everyone knew that the sound of wedding bells were in the not-so-distant future for them.

Not lost amongst the group of former Rangers was the irony that, shortly after Tommy and Kim's wedding, Rocky had begun dating Kim's cousin who he had escorted to the altar that day and their relationship was beginning to get fairly serious as well. The only ones who weren't getting married or contemplating the idea were the younger Rangers. Or at least that's what Jason thought.

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_March 2011_

_The McKnight and Ford families are thrilled to invite you to the wedding of_

_Mr. Connor McKnight_

_And_

_Ms. Kira Ford_

_The wedding will take place on August 3rd 2011 with the service beginning at 5:00 pm at UCLA's Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. Please RSVP no later than June 21st along with your meal selection. The form is attached. Hope to see you there!_

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_August 10th 2012_

Kira screamed loudly from her box seat at Wembley Stadium in London as Connor stood just outside the 18-yard box as he prepared for the final shot in the Best of 5 Shootout to determine the Gold Medal winner in the 2012 London Olympic Games. Team USA and Brazil, a soccer powerhouse for years, had played for ninety minutes and, when regulation time expired, they were tied 1-1.

After two fifteen minute periods of extra time, the game was still tied which meant a shootout had to happen to determine the winner. Each team had made three goals and Brazil had had two shots blocked to America's one which meant Connor could bring home America's first Olympic gold medal in soccer if he could score here.

Connor took a deep breath as he looked at the nervous goal keeper who was bent at the knees and swaying back and forth. He had a plan of attack but it was risky and had high potential to fail. For a brief moment, the young man thought about taking a direct shot and the safe route but he shook the thought out of his head quickly as he thought about what his mentor had said to them on their graduation day.

_No one said it was going to be easy, just that it was worth it._

A smile crept across Connor's face and that only made the keeper more nervous. Connor stepped back and ran towards the ball, kicking it towards the upper left corner of the goal. Just as he had expected, the goalie dove towards the ball's initial direction and he knew he had done it as the ball curved right and hit the side of the net before settling in the goal.

"Unbelievable! This is certainly unprecedented!" the PA announcer yelled "For the first time, America has won the Olympic Gold Medal in football!"

Connor ripped off his jersey and threw it into the air as his teammates ran at him and dog piled on top of him. From her seat in the stands, Kira smiled brightly and, even though it was two in the morning in California, Tommy and Kim stood up from their couch, clapped and cheered loudly as Connor emerged from the pile and pointed his finger towards the sky in triumph.

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_December 25th 2012_

Kim stood alone on the deck that overlooked Lake Tahoe and the snowcapped Sierra's as her hot breath became visible in the cold mountain air. Her and Tommy had rented a little vacation house along with Jason and Kat to spend the Christmas holiday in. She felt the warm arms of her husband wrap around her waist and pull her towards him and she smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Handsome," she said as she turned back and kissed him "Are the kids up yet?"

"Same to you, Beautiful and no, they're still out cold after all the excitement from yesterday but I'm pretty sure little Trini kept Jason and Kat up all night. I still can't believe she's two already," he replied "I'm just glad our kids understand that darkness means that it's sleep time now."

"Still, I'm surprised they're not awake. It's Christmas morning. When I was a kid I was up before everyone else in the house," she reminisced "Where did those days go, Tommy? I miss being younger and so care-free."

"We grew up, Beautiful," he answered "But I'm okay with that because I have you to get old and fat with and that's all that matters."

"Hey, I may get old but I am _not_ gonna get fat," she replied with a smile.

"Even if you did, I'd still love you the same," he said before bending down to kiss her as their kids came running outside and began tugging on their parents' pajama pants.

"Mommy, Daddy, come on it's Christmas!" Michael yelled.

"Yeah, Uncle Jason and Aunt Katherine are up with Cousin Trini. Everyone's waiting for you," Christina added.

"Well, Merry Christmas to you too, ya little rugrats," Tommy teased as he and Kimberly each scooped up a child and kissed them on the forehead before carrying them back into the house.

Jason was sitting on the couch with a mug of coffee in his hands while Kat was trying to entertain and dress their daughter at the same time. Tommy and Kim smiled at Jason and Kat and wished them a Merry Christmas as they set Michael and Christina down and let them dive headfirst into their presents.

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_June 2026, twenty years after graduation…_

Twenty years had passed since the four teens graduated high school and retired from active Ranger duty. The power couple of the Dino Thunder team had moved back to Reefside after their fast-paced careers settled down and gave them the chance to have a life again.

Connor had retired from playing soccer after a 12 year professional career a few years earlier at the age of 36 and had taken a job at a facility in Reefside that trained future Olympic teams. The once small town had expanded immensely over the years since everyone left and it had also become a hot spot for young soccer stars who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Connor who had become something of a hero in Reefside.

Kira started her own record label _Yellow Girl Records_ and it was based only a few miles away from where Connor worked. After retiring from singing she dedicated her career as a record label executive to signing up-and-coming talent, usually young females, who needed a hand in the business, something she didn't have when she was younger.

As a couple, they had been together for twenty-one years, a number that was only eclipsed in their lives by their former teacher and mentor and his wife. They also managed to have a couple kids along the way and their oldest son, 14-year old Thomas Jason McKnight, was preparing to start high school in a few months. Their youngest daughter, Kimberly Haley McKnight, who was 10 had just been enrolled at the _Pink Crane Gymnastics School_ and was being trained by 19 year-old Christina Oliver who was following in the footsteps of her mother.

The couple was immensely proud of their children and when they had first received their son's school schedule in the mail at the beginning of summer they couldn't help but laugh at the classes he was enrolled in and the teachers he was going to have.

_Period 1. Oliver, T. - Biology_

_Period 2. Scott-Hillard, K. - World History_

_Period 3.. Oliver, T. - Homeroom/Study Hall  
_

_Period 4. Scott, J. - Phys. Ed._

_Period 5. Smith, R. - Algebra_

_Period 6. Oliver, K. - Honors English_

Only one of his teachers was someone they hadn't grown up with and secretly they both thought a certain tenured science teacher had something to do with that and they were right. When Tommy had seen that the McKnight boy had been enrolled at Reefside High he had made it a point to make sure the young man had as many former Rangers for teachers as possible. It would have been all Rangers but none of them had ever been really good at math except Billy.

Connor held on to Kira's hand as they slowly walked towards the gymnasium at Reefside High School. Their official class reunion was supposed to be on Saturday at a hotel on the outskirts of town but a certain someone had sent them an email requesting their presence on Friday night at the school.

As they walked up to the doors, they were surprised to find them unlocked. Even though they were told to be there it was still weird to find the gym doors unlocked and the lights on considering it was a Friday night in summer. The two people who were now only a few years away from 40 entered the gym and saw that Ethan and Trent were sitting on the bleachers waiting patiently for them.

Trent, who was now wearing glasses, waved to them as he got up and made his way towards the pair and hugged them both. Ethan followed right behind them and did the same as the four began to catch up.

Ethan had become a highly respected and well known engineer working for NASA and had helped design the first space craft that could carry and support human life on the long flight to Mars. It was a huge contribution to the world of science and space exploration and it was something that Ethan was proud of as well.

Trent had begun a career at the comic book company after college and was now making seven figures with the characters he designed and merchandised without any assistance. Three successful feature films had been made based on his characters and Trent's dream of having the world see his work was finally accomplished.

Both were also married and had kids of their own. Ethan had moved to Florida and Trent had stayed obviously stayed in New York after college. Their jobs kept them all so busy that they rarely got to see one another anymore which was something none of them liked but they did exchange emails not only with each other but with the old Rangers as well which is what brought them here today. Suddenly the door opened again and they all turned to look at the man and woman who were twelve years their seniors.

Kira was the first to recognize them and she instantly ran towards them, throwing her arms around them and holding on tight. She looked up at the man and smiled at his receding hairline, glasses and salt & pepper hair color as he gave her a small kiss on the cheek. His hair was no longer gelled and spiked like when they were kids.Instead, it sat in a tight ponytail which they all knew Kim had managed to talk him into.

As Connor approached him, Tommy stuck his hand out for him to shake but Connor refused, instead deciding that a hug would be much more appropriate for the occasion. Even though Tommy and Kim lived in the same city as Connor and Kira, they rarely got to see each other due to their hectic schedules.

Ethan was walking towards them hesitantly, afraid to interrupt the greeting but Kim put that feeling aside as she ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck. She was pushing 50 now but she didn't look a day over 35. She still had long brown hair and maintained her gorgeous brown eyes that, at 48, could still cause any man to blush, even one as dark skinned as Ethan.

They still managed to find time to operate their dojo/gymnastics school even though they had decided that teaching wasn't so good for their aging joints and muscles anymore. They instead hired their kids to teach most of the classes but they had agreed to teach the couples self-defense class three nights a week because it was fairly relaxed and allowed them to spend time together as well as stay in shape.

Trent was the last one to greet the couple and eventually they all made their way to the wooden bleachers. When Tommy and Kim were around each other they still acted like they did when they were much younger and their behavior made the others less nervous about the prospect of growing older.

"So, I hear you both have another McKnight to deal with," Trent said with a smile "Do you _really_ think you can you deal with another one for four years?"

Connor and the others all laughed at the irony of the situation. Twenty years after they had all sat in Tommy's classroom, Connor and Kira's son was going to have the same privilege and opportunity that they had experienced in having Tommy as a teacher.

"Don't worry, Dr. O," Connor replied "If he acts up, you know where to find us. We've told him a lot about you all though and he really is excited to have you guys as teachers."

Tommy smiled as he clasped Connor's shoulder and gave him a small nod of his head. They all sat in silence for a few minutes until Ethan decided to speak up.

"So, as much as I love being back with all you guys," he began "I know you didn't just call us here for a reunion. So what's up?"

"Ya know, there really isn't anything exciting this time. Sorry," Kim replied "We just haven't seen you all in so long and we thought now would be a good time to catch up. But there is something we wanted to give you all and we figured this would be much easier than mailing them. Tommy?"

Their former mentor and teammate nodded and smiled as he reached into the small shopping bag he had carried in and pulled out four different colored stones, handing the red one to Connor, the yellow to Kira, the blue stone to Ethan and the white one to Trent. The four retired Rangers all looked at the Dino Gems and suddenly began to feel emotional.

Kira burst into tears as Connor put his arm around her and pulled her close, the same way Tommy did with Kim when she got emotional. The three males all had tears in their eyes as well which let Tommy and Kim know that they truly had had a profound effect on the four of them.

After twenty more minutes or so of talking and catching up, Tommy and Kim slowly got up from their seats on the bleachers as Connor, Kira, Ethan and Trent did the same and followed them towards the doors. Tommy pushed the double doors open to let everyone exit and then turned around to switch off the gymnasium lights with the darkness truly signifying the end of an era.

As he reached the parking lot with the others they all turned around slowly and took one last look at the school. They all knew in their hearts that, even though they hadn't been Rangers in twenty years, the legacy that they had helped build together would never really ever die.

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_That's it, the end of _A Very Ranger Reunion._ I truly hope that you all have enjoyed this story. I wanted it to be a little bit longer but school just started back up and I realized it would be damn near impossible to keep up with school, work, a life and a story so hopefully you aren't disappointed in the way it ended. I may start another story in the near future but it probably won't be updated nearly as fast as this one was._

_In closing, I would like to thank a few readers who have pushed me to make this story great which I think I have done and they are: kdmarks _for all the pm's and discussions about the story, _Lavonne Adams _for the constantly detailed reviews and words of encouragement and _red lighting _because your two to four word reviews which consisted of "update soon" or "love it, update soon" helped keep me on track. HAHA.

_Take care everyone, hopefully I'll be talking to all of you again soon with a new story. May the power protect you._

_WK_


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